I do not own these series, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 89: No Revenge Needed; The Three Extra Years

After Naruto closed the door to his room, Older Sasuke lead Sasuke to Itachi's old room. "Have a good night," Older Sasuke said.

"Wait!" Sasuke said. The older man stopped. "How… how can you be so forgiving?"

"I don't need revenge," Older Sasuke said. "I have Naruto." He walked away, not wanting to talk to the younger boy anymore.

Sasuke stared after the older man before going into Itachi's old room and closing the door behind him. He glared at the room. It was just as it was back in his world before Itachi massacred the clan. The only difference was that Kurama had a clear presence in this room. There was a dark red pillow on the bed that seemed out of place. Sasuke rolled his eyes at it. He tossed his bag onto the bed before pulling out some clothes. Since he knew there was a shower in the bathroom next to this room, he decided to take advantage of it. Who knew how long he'd have to go without being able to take a real shower after they left this world.

Once inside the bathroom, he stripped. He placed his dirty clothes in the laundry basket. His clean clothes were on the toilet seat. The bathroom was really clean which sparked his pride. It meant that Older Sasuke kept the place clean. Turning the water to a decent temperature, Sasuke stepped into the shower.

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Hearing the shower, Older Naruto grinned. He had left a clone behind in his office since he didn't want to keep Older Sasuke waiting too long. Not remembering that they had guests, he made his way carefully towards the bathroom. It would go down as one of his stupidest moments for if he had simply used his natural abilities, he'd have known that it wasn't his Sasuke in the shower. He entered the bathroom quietly. Already naked, he grabbed the shower curtain and pulled it open. His eyes widened instantly when he realized what he had just done.

"What the hell Dobe?" Sasuke said. Then he glared. "You're…"

"S-sorry," Older Naruto said. "I wasn't thinking."

"Obviously," Sasuke said. He crossed his arms. He tried to keep his eyes on Older Naruto's face.

"Should I be worried?" Older Sasuke asked from behind Older Naruto. He too had his arms crossed.

"N-no," Older Naruto said. "I… I thought he was you."

"Hn," Older Sasuke grunted. He stepped forward and pulled Older Naruto into his arms. Leaning his head on Older Naruto's shoulder, his eyes went to Sasuke's frame. He glared at the younger boy before moving a hand to Older Naruto's butt and squeezing it. Older Naruto let out a yelp as Older Sasuke smirked at the blush on Sasuke's face. "I think we should take this to our bedroom. Don't you?"

"Y-yes," Older Naruto said. He looked back at Sasuke. "Sorry." With Older Sasuke's arms still around Older Naruto, they vanished in a red blur.

Sasuke finally let himself fall to the floor. He glared down at the reaction his body gave at the sight of the naked blond. The blond was bigger than the Naruto he knew, as he was even taller than Older Sasuke, by a few centimeters. The two were different in various ways, but they were both still Naruto. Sasuke wrapped his arms around his legs as he hoped this feeling would just go away. It took over ten minutes before Sasuke could stand up and finish his shower. He got dressed, mindful of Older Naruto's clothes, and headed back to his room. He glanced at his old room and blushed. A sound barrier had been placed around it but that didn't stop Sasuke from knowing what was going on. Closing the door behind him, he ran to the bed and jumped on it. He got under the covers quickly and slammed his head down on the pillows. He really hoped that sleep would come quickly tonight.

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"Is Sasuke still asleep?" Naruto asked as he entered the dining room. Older Naruto and Older Sasuke were already at the table. He took a seat across from his other self.

Older Naruto blushed. "Looks like he's sleeping in," Older Sasuke said. "I'm surprised you're awake."

Naruto shrugged. "I've had to get up early almost everyday since leaving our world. I guess I got used to it."

"How long have you been away?" Older Naruto asked.

"I'm not really sure," Naruto admitted. "Time works differently in each world."

"Tell me about the worlds you've been to," Older Naruto said with a slightly demanding tone. Naruto just smiled and began his tale. Sasuke came down around the time Naruto was explaining about the world with only women. He couldn't look at either of the three as his mind instantly went back to the bathroom incident. He quietly ate his food as Naruto continued. Older Sasuke felt bad about how Sasuke was feeling, but he needed to let himself feel this way.

"...and then a zombie version of us walked towards us," Naruto said.

"Wait," Older Naruto said. "He used the Impure World Reincarnation to bring back his world's Naruto?" Naruto nodded. "Why?"

Naruto blushed. "Well, I think he originally planned to use that Naruto to find the survivors."

"Oh?" Kurama asked. Naruto jumped at his and Itachi's sudden arrival. "Originally?"

Naruto looked down. "I could smell their mixed scent. They were… sleeping together."

Older Sasuke looked a bit disgusted. "With a corpse?"

"A Naruto corpse," Itachi said as if that would make it ok. "He loved his Naruto enough to bring him back so they could be together despite the excuse to use him as bait."

"Naruto," Older Sasuke said looking right into Older Naruto's eyes. "I love you. I really do. But I'm never going to use that jutsu."

Older Naruto smiled. "You'll never have to."

"I think it's a bit romantic," Kurama said. All eyes turned towards him, including Sasuke's. "I mean, he went as far as to use a forbidden jutsu to bring back the one he loved. Sure his body isn't normal, but neither are ours." He motioned to himself and Older Naruto. "Can you really say you'd never think about it at least? I mean if you really wanted to bring back the Uchiha Clan, that's one way to do it."

"I wouldn't do that," Itachi said. "I agree that it's somewhat romantic, but I'd be disturbing the peace my loved ones had. I would never be able to forgive myself if I did something like that." Both Sasukes nodded at that. They had thought about it when they had first learned about that jutsu, but they had decided against it on similar grounds. "I have to wonder though, what that Sasuke would do if his love for Naruto outweighed his hate for the survivors."

"I don't know," Naruto said. "But he did kidnap me for a reason. I think he wanted to attach that Naruto's soul to my body."

Older Naruto's eyes widened in understanding. "He wanted a living and breathing Naruto. It didn't matter if the body wasn't the same but the soul mattered. It had to be his Naruto." Naruto nodded.

"That's just sick," Older Sasuke said. "He shouldn't have killed him in the first place." He crossed his arms.

"He had his reasons," Itachi said. "He followed his path of revenge and that was the consequence of his choices." Sasuke noticed the glance Itachi gave towards him at that sentence before he moved his gaze back towards Naruto.

Naruto took a sip of his chocolate milk. "I kind of wonder what happened after we left."

"Where did you go next?" Older Naruto asked, also taking a sip of chocolate milk.

"We ended up in a world with a serial killer that was killing criminals with a notebook," Naruto said with a smile. Sasuke tuned Naruto out as he kept his gaze on Itachi. It was clear that Itachi wanted to talk to him. With another glance from Itachi, he nodded, showing that he was willing to talk later.

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Both Narutos stood facing each other. After Naruto had told them about Hisoka and Kyu, Older Naruto told him that his and Kurama's separation was a jutsu he had created. Excitement had filled Naruto's eyes when he begged Older Naruto to teach him the jutsu. When he agreed, Naruto hugged the older man. The two were now outside in the Uzumaki training field. There was a barrier around the training field just in case jutsus got out of hand. Older Naruto just got through explaining how his jutsu worked.

"So Kurama has to picture what he wants to look like while I tap into both of our chakras?" Naruto asked.

Older Naruto nodded. "But you can't allow yourself to go into Tailed Beast Mode. You have to equally use both chakras to form a body. The body will then take shape into a fox. A smaller body is easier to work with. Once he's out as a fox, Kurama will be able to give himself a human shape."

Naruto nodded. He closed his eyes as he tried to gather both his and Kurama's chakra. Suddenly, Older Naruto put a hand on his shoulder. "You were just entering Sage Mode. Why didn't you tell me you could use Sage Mode?"

Naruto shrugged. "I didn't think of it."'

"I see," Older Naruto said. "This may be harder than I thought. Sage Mode will interfere with this. I created the jutsu before I learned Sage Mode."

"Oh," Naruto looked down.

"But that doesn't mean you won't be able to learn it," Older Naruto said. "We will just have to seal off your ability to use Sage Mode."

"How will we do that?" Naruto asked.

"Simple," Older Naruto said. He pulled out a piece of paper and an ink pen. He began to make a seal. "I've been a Seal Master for years. I can easily make a seal to stop you from taking in Nature Chakra." He finished the seal then handed it to Naruto. "The only problem is that my chakra level is too high for me to use that seal on you. It will have to be someone with less chakra. I'll be able to take it off of you though."

"Who?" Naruto asked.

Older Naruto smiled. "Anyone really." He paused. "I think there is someone that you'd like to meet."

"I see you already knew I was coming," a voice said. Naruto turned to see a man with black hair that covered his right eye. It was long and spiky, although it was a bit flat at the top. Around his neck was a necklace with an Uchiwa with a sword in an X in the middle. He wore black pants and a sleeveless black top. He stopped a few feet away from Naruto. "There are two of you."

"He's from another world," Older Naruto said. "Like you, Uen."

Uen. This was the Uchiha that came from another world. Naruto had to admit that he did look like an Uchiha. In fact, he looked like he could be Sasuke's father. He knew he wasn't since Sasuke's father's name was Fugaku. Uen looked a little like Fugaku, but only enough to say that they were either brothers or cousins.

"Not from mine though," Uen said. "He's very different from the Naruto I know."

"There was a Naruto in your world too?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," Uen said. "He was the second prince of the Namikaze Kingdom, the younger twin of Kurama Namikaze. When I left though, he was the Queen of the Uchiha Kingdom while my nephew Sasuke was the King."

'So even in his world, Sasuke and I are together,' Naruto thought. 'Wait!' "Nephew?"

Uen smiled, a look Naruto still wasn't used to seeing on an Uchiha. "Fugaku was my brother in my world."

"Sasuke's never said anything about an uncle named Uen," Naruto said.

"It seems I don't exist in your world just as I don't exist in this one," Uen said. "I checked the family register. Fugaku didn't have a brother, or a sister. I have to admit that I'm a bit surprised about that. Normally, Uchihas had as many children as possible."

"Fugaku was born during a time of war," Older Naruto said. "Our birth rate must be smaller than your world. Though, that is changing now that Kabuto and the Akatsuki are gone. I mean Ino just gave birth to her third daughter last month and Hinata's pregnant with twins again." Naruto's eyes widened at that. In this world, his friends were already making families of their own. A dull pain caused his heart to ache. Older Naruto seemed to notice this and decided to change the subject. "Are you done with the archive then?"

"Yeah," Uen said. "I think I'll be moving on soon."

"Can you bring us back to our world?" Naruto asked.

Uen shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't. The power I used to get here doesn't work that way. Only I can use it and I can't take anyone with me." Naruto looked down sadly. "It seems like you were training. What were you guys doing?"

"Trying to let him give Kurama his own body," Older Naruto said.

"I still can't get over the fact that Kurama is a fox demon," Uen said. "And I'm guessing he is one in your world too?" Naruto nodded. "I see. That's interesting. Anyway, is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Actually, there is," Older Naruto held the seal out to Uen. "Place this on Naruto's forehead. Then tap into your chakra. I know you gained some from living here."

"I did," Uen said, raising a hand. "I have to admit that it is a really cool power to have." He placed the seal against Naruto's forehead before closing his eyes. He tapped a finger to the middle of the seal before the seal vanished into Naruto's body.

"Good," Older Naruto said. "Now try going into Sage Mode." Naruto did, but nothing happened. "Excellent. Now try that jutsu again."

Uen stepped away from Naruto as he closed his eyes. Making some hand signs, Naruto waited until he felt his chakra lining up with Kurama's. Then, he held out his hand as if to form the Rasengan. Red chakra flew out of his hand and began to form a fox. Once the fox was completely formed, Naruto opened his eyes. The blue chakra on his hand disappeared. "Kurama?"

"Kit," the fox said.

"Kurama!" Naruto yelled. He scooped up the fox and hugged it against his chest. "I did it!"

"You did," the fox said. "Now put me down!" Naruto laughed as he did. A few seconds later, the fox began to change into a man. The man that had appeared out of him back in Oz's world was now standing in front of Naruto, naked.

Older Naruto cursed. "I forgot this part." He took off his cloak and tossed it at the man. The man snickered as he covered himself up. He smirked at the blush on Naruto's face. "We need to get him home so he can put some clothes on. I'm sure Kurama's clothes will fit you."

"That's going to get a bit confusing," the man said. "With there being two of us now, we may both respond to our name."

"True," Older Naruto said. "Maybe you should go back into him until you leave."

"Hell no," the man said. "Just call me the Great Kurama. That will make a difference."

"Why not Kyu?" Naruto asked. "That is your nickname."

"Fine," Kyu grumbled. He crossed his arms. Both Narutos sighed before their stomachs rumbled.

"Shall we go back and have lunch?" Older Naruto asked. Naruto nodded.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Uen asked. "I'd like to meet Sasuke."

"I don't see why not," Older Naruto said. "I have plenty of food. And I'm sure Sasuke would like to meet you as well." The group made their way back to the Uzumaki Compound.

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"So?" Sasuke asked. "Are you going to tell me why you brought me here?" He looked around the area. He wasn't familiar with the place, yet he felt like he'd been here before.

"I'm sure you already know why," Itachi said. He sat down. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"I already told you that I killed you and…" Sasuke began.

"No, not that," Itachi interrupted. "What happened that made you so full of hate?"

"If you're talking about the council…" Sasuke started.

Again, Itachi interrupted him. "That is something I can understand. Correct me if I have anything wrong. I or rather your brother took part in the massacre of the entire Uchiha Clan excluding you and himself." Sasuke nodded. "And then he did something to make you want to grow strong enough to kill him. But Team 7 started to feel like a family again, a place for you to belong." Sasuke wondered if Older Sasuke had told this man everything. "Orochimaru's attack on Konoha opened your eyes to the powerful people that were out there. Although I can't see it, I'm going to guess that at the time of his attack, he gave you the Curse Mark."

"It was during the Chunin Exams," Sasuke said.

Itachi nodded. "The same then. Kakashi most likely tried to seal it, but his seal couldn't stop it. You eventually tapped into it, allowing it to take a hold of you." He held up a hand to stop Saske from arguing. "My foolish little brother already admitted to it. The Curse Mark has the power to corrupt one's mind so that Orochimaru may control it. However, as an Uchiha, you were able to block out his influence. That was until something changed. I'm guessing someone showed you how strong you could be if you let that power grow." Sasuke nodded. "And after some thought, you decided to leave Konoha and go to Orochimaru. After six years, you killed Orochimaru and…"

"Three years," Sasuke corrected. Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Naruto and Sakura along with my replacement and Kakashi's attacked one of Orochimaru's hideouts. I don't know what Naruto did, but he managed to weaken Orochimaru. It helped that the three years were nearly up. I killed Orochimaru before forming a team to find Itachi and kill him."

"I see," Itachi said. He couldn't help but notice the way Sasuke mentioned Sai. He knew that his brother felt the same way. "Three years instead of six. I wonder if that means the Incident didn't happen."

"Incident?"

"Nothing you need to be worried about." Itachi waved his hand as if he was brushing away his previous words. "So instead of trying to get Naruto to join you, you went after your brother."

"I ran into an Akatsuki team made up of Tobi and Deidara. Deidara made himself explode, but I was able to escape the explosion. Tobi used his spatial movement jutsu to avoid it. Itachi sent me a message with a clone to meet him at an old Uchiha hideout. I went there with my team. Kisame was there and he told me that Itachi only wanted me to come. I agreed and left my team with Kisame before I walked into the hideout. We fought, destroying the place. And then I… I killed him."

Itachi sighed. "Those three years seem to have made a big difference. I knew Sasuke was safe with Orochimaru for another three years after I learned that he missed Orochimaru's Transference due date. The Akatsuki attacked and captured the first seven Jinchuriki, taking their Bijuus. Gaara was able to be saved by Naruto and a Suna woman by the name of Chiyo. However, the others couldn't be saved. It was also during those three years that Naruto became an Anbu. He was captured by the Akatsuki but was able to escape. He grew strong enough to attack their base where he freed the captured Bijuu. During this, I was trying to find a way out of the Akatsuki and my current mission. I was sent by the Third to join the Akatsuki to learn what their goal was and to try to find a way to stop them from the inside. But I had enough of them. I was able to leave the Akatsuki thanks to Naruto. Sasuke on the other hand used those three years to train more and he killed Orochimaru before making a team. He decided to ask Naruto to join him, hoping that I'd come for him. He wasn't wrong as I did come for him, but only because I wanted to protect him from the Akatsuki. It was then that I quit. Naruto and Kurama were able to persuade me to come back to Konoha. I agreed and I have been happy ever since."

Sasuke didn't know what to say to that. He wondered if he had gotten those three years if he would have done the same thing. He wanted to ask Itachi about the Akatsuki, but he noticed how angry that group made him. "I thought I wouldn't survive. I thought I was going to die with Itachi. But I didn't. Instead, Tobi took me to his hideout and took care of me. He told me everything about the massacre."

"Did he have proof?"

"He explained why Itachi didn't leave after he killed Mother and Father. He also told me that Itachi couldn't kill me because he loved me too much. He also told me that he was Madara. It made sense as Itachi mentioned his existence. I did doubt him but all of the facts pointed to him telling the truth. I joined the Akatsuki and I captured the Eight Tails, only to find out that it was just a tail Henged into him. I wasn't used to the Mangekyo so when I used it, it took a lot out of me. I waited until I healed before using the information Madara got about Danzo becoming Hokage and attending the Kage Summit."

"You joined the Akatsuki and fought Bee?" Itachi's eyes were wide. "And Danzo became Hokage?"

"Only for a month. We attacked the Summit, though I only wanted to kill Danzo. Danzo fled and I followed him. We fought. I killed him. Naruto showed up but I was too weak to fight him so I left with Madara. I took Itachi's eyes to stop the pain from the Mangekyo. I was testing its power when Naruto showed up. We fought but ended up on this stupid journey."

"I see. So even if you went back to Konoha, you'd face severe punishment."

"I'm not going back to Konoha."

"Why not? Danzo is dead and I'm sure that Naruto will be able to convince Tsunade-sama to allow you back. She'd also look into the massacre and punish the Elders."

"They deserve to die!"

"I agree." Sasuke looked at Itachi in surprise. "When I was asked for my opinion, I was too afraid to ask for their deaths. Sasuke, Naruto, and Tsunade-sama weren't. The rest of the council voted in agreement for immediate execution."

"Did you kill them?"

"No. Naruto did. At the time, he was already Captain of the Anbu. As such, it was his job to carry out the execution. To be honest, I'm glad it was him. He took that burden away from me."

"Burden?"

"Killing someone isn't as easy as people think." Itachi looked out over the lake. "My hands are covered in so much blood that I'm afraid that I may lose myself one day. Kurama, Sasuke, and Naruto keep me grounded. I'm sure Naruto feels the same way as he has killed even more than I have." Sasuke's eyes widened at that. "If you want to know more, you'd have to ask him. It isn't my story to tell. I can tell you that he fights himself over it everyday. Without Sasuke and Kurama, I'm sure Naruto would not be the Naruto we know and love. He'd have lost himself to the darkness a long time ago." Itachi stood up. "I'm sure you are fighting that darkness yourself. I hope you will one day come to terms with what you have done. You should grab ahold of that piece of light inside of you and never let go." Without another word, Itachi started to walk back to the Uzumaki compound. Sasuke stayed behind for a few minutes as he thought over Itachi's words.