"Big brother! Big brother!" A childish voice ran through the silent complex of the Uchiha main district. Pitter patters of small feet echoed in the same tone as a small boy came running around the corner. Running past wooden walls and paper dividers was a boy who couldn't have been anywhere above the age of six. His hair was dark enough to match his equally onyx eyes, and his face was one of pure innocence. Slender limbs were partially covered by a dark blue shirt with a fan on his back, the top of it being bright red while the bottom was a bone white. He wore similarly colored shorts that cradled his knees as he ran, and happily smiled at anyone that he came across. People in the complex would smile back at him, enjoying his pure, jovial attitude that seemed to brighten wherever he went. Some would laugh as he passed, offering him some fruit, and some would just ask him how his day was as he stopped to greet them. The boy would smile, reply that his day was great and continue to call for his big brother. The boy did not even see that he had a watcher in the form of the very same person he called for. Itachi Uchiha watched from above, hiding only slightly in a tree that barely concealed his form like a caring raven watched over his hatchlings. He made sure that nothing happened to his little brother while he was around, and would only appear whenever his little brother got closer to home. It hurt to wait so long before he had to reveal himself to his little brother, but the less contact that his little brother had with him the better. His form, hidden partly by the shade of the tree, was cloaked in an Anbu uniform fit with the deep, black undershirt and pants. A vest of light grey encased his upper body, and a small short sword stayed over his right shoulder. Itachi's features were rougher than the boy's, his eyes were colder and held onto the dark much more than his younger brother's. He definitely was older; broaching into his teens. His headband, fit with Konoha's symbol, hung proudly on his forehead, forcing his longer black hair to come out from the top and frame his face. Finally, the time came for Itachi to come out of hiding. He appeared inside the courtyard of their house, strode to the door that his little brother was about to come out of and smiled as the small boy didn't even hesitate before jumping at his older brother. Itachi dodged to the side, evading the show of affection. "Good afternoon, Sasuke. How was the academy?" Sasuke beamed, flashing the small holes in his teeth where he had lost some from either sparring or them falling out. "It was great! I taught Sakura the kunai trick you showed me, and now she won't have to worry about those meanies who keep making fun of her forehead!" "Don't tell me that you two attacked them?" Itachi asked, reproachfulness invading his voice. "I didn't teach you that just so you can go and beat people up." "Nope!" Sasuke slurred happily. "She just showed them how awesome it was, and they got scared!" "I see, and was that all you did today?" Itachi continued the conversation. He really needed to go to his meeting, but that could wait so long as Sasuke was happy. His little brother hummed, thinking over his day while counting something on outstretched fingers. "Well, we were taught about the five major villages, and how the first Hokage was super awesome." He leaned in conspicuously, "Did you know that he even made this entire village? He could grow entire forests out of nothing." "What?!" Another voice intruded in the conversation. "That sounds amazing!" "Shisui!" Sasuke cheered at the intruder, running and jumping at them. Opposite from Itachi, Shisui caught the young boy, and smoothly spun him until Sasuke begged to be placed on the ground. The younger Uchiha was in a fit of giggles as he rolled around in the dirt, dizzy from hanging on for dear life as his cousin had just spun them. He was too distracted to watch as the older Uchiha's spoke with their eyes. "It's nice to see you too, Itachi." Shisui smiled, his lips easily finding the familiar gesture. Itachi would never say it, but he always felt that Shisui's smiles were the most genuine. And the most sad. The teen had a smoother profile. His face fit his kind look, and his eyes were similar to Sasuke's where they twinkled happily at life. Spiky hair that defied gravity sprouted from his head, stopped from going into his vision by a Konoha headband. "Likewise, Shisui." Itachi finally answered, noticing Shisui had stealthily signed something before Sasuke could recover from his spinning vision. "Have you been well?" "I have. Though, I could do for some training later. You want to join?" Shisui said, still smiling, but Itachi knew that something was wrong. Shisui never offered to train after Itachi had joined the Anbu. However, saying anything now would get Sasuke wrapped up in it. "Sasuke, don't you need to say hello to mother and father? It's rather rude to forget about them as soon as you come home." Itachi easily supplied a distraction. "Awww, but I wanna stay with you, and Shisui. You guys are gonna do all the fun stuff without me, again." Sasuke whined. Itachi offered a genuine smile at his little brother's antics, and leaned closer to his younger sibling before poking him in his forehead. The gesture had enough force to knock Sasuke's head back a bit, but the younger Uchiha just rubbed his head with an expression of annoyance. "Maybe later, little brother." Itachi finished. "Learn a little patience, and remember to eat your vegetables when mother shoves them at you." Sasuke looked aghast at the words. "No way am I gonna like tomatoes!" However, instead of continuing to stay around, Sasuke went off to search for his parents like Itachi had told him to. The two left were only able to wait a couple seconds before their jovial faces fell to one of stern seriousness. The change was jarring enough that the two of them barely recognized the tone that came with it. "I'm thinking of training our tracking skills today." Shisui started, his smile no longer as uplifting as it once was. "I think you are in for a surprise then." Itachi fired back as they started to leave the Uchiha district. "My training in the Anbu had proved to be rather bountiful." "Did you… did you just say 'bountiful'?" Shisui asked, his face falling out of seriousness for a second. Itachi looked embarrassed for a second. "It's a great word, and it fits! Besides, the Anbu did teach me enough." "Sorry, sorry." Shisui laughed, tussling Itachi's hair affectionately. "Just forget how fast my little brother has grown. You're using big words now." As if to hide the looks he was getting from his pseudo brother, Itachi sped faster to their destination. Though a smile was splayed on his lips for anyone who could see. The younger boy would never say it, but the day Shisui had said that he thought of him as a younger brother was one of the happiest days of his life. Itachi would give everything for Sasuke to experience that sort of happiness all the time. They arrived before a vast expanse of huge trees. The foliage speared up into the sky, supported from the thick brown trucks that were large enough for tens of people to gather around and still not circle. Various calls of wildlife echoed within the forests, and only a tall metal fence barred entry and exit from the massive area. A sign on the thick fence with the labels 'Forests of Death: Extremely Dangerous' warned those from entering that this place definitely lived up to its foreboding appearance. The two Uchiha prodigies didn't even pause as they entered, the Shinobi who was watching the entrance could only fumble with his words before letting the two higher ranked ones through. They ran through the trees with a grace and elegance that couldn't be matched by any normal human, and their steps barely made a sound as they leaped from branch to branch. Any animal that had miraculously chanced on them suddenly found itself in pieces, dying with the last sound it heard being Itachi's sword sheathing. When Itachi and Shisui finally stopped, they were standing within a small clearing overlooking a deep ravine. The sound of water flowing rumbled from beneath, and a small waterfall crashed down below. Itachi didn't even spare the surroundings a glance. Shisui looked over the flowing water with a quiet intrigue, suddenly finding the words he already knew to be hard to pull back up. "The Hiashi Hyūga's wife died in a miscarriage." He started off with a bomb. Itachi decided that he shouldn't speak as Shisui continued, "From the stress of the whole kidnapping situation, and the fact that the Anbu sent out hasn't found them yet, she died while in labor. The child… they didn't make it." Shisui seemed to be struggling with something before he finally heaved a sigh that aged him a few years. "Fugaku… your dad, I saw him talking to Hiashi a couple weeks ago, and just now I was confirmed on my suspicions when he asked for my help in the coup that they're planning. He already has the support of most of the elders in the clan. Now with another whole clan joining in, there really isn't a way to stop it by just influencing your dad." Itachi frowned heavily at the whole situation. "But you said that your Kotoamatsukami (Distinguishing Heavenly God) could stop Father from doing this." "Yes it can, but it can only work on one person at a time, and I'll only be able to use it once a year. If I use it on Fugaku, then there is still the problem of Hiashi out for blood. With his only child kidnapped, his wife dead from the stress and the Third having agreed to a peace treaty with the instigators of all that, it really didn't take much for him to agree to joining Fugaku." Shisui clarified, frustration tinting his voice. "Damn it! When did it all go wrong?" "We have to talk sense into them then." Itachi suggested. "Starting a coup will only end in everyone attacking us in the perceived weakness. Father should see this if we tell him." Shisui's smile did not return to his face. "It won't work. He's already too ingrained within the notion of this that it's already too late to stop it, and Hiashi already wants war with Kumo." "But you have a plan?" Itachi asked, knowing that Shisui wouldn't bring the both of them out here just to tell him that the plan was ruined. "I…" Shisui licked his dry lips. "I have more an idea than a plan." He looked around for a second, his eyes flashing a blood red and spiralling tomoe, glancing around before leaning just in case. "Someone informed me of that the nine-tails jinchūriki was spotted somewhere on the border of Fire Country and Water Country. He was traveling with two other people: a young girl his age and an unknown man. If that young girl is who I think it is, then we have a good chance of solving the problem with Hiashi. I think that the informants also want to avoid the coup, and had given me the information as a sign of good faith." Itachi frowned at what he was hearing. "Shisui, I know this is a desperate situation, but I don't think believing any random information is a good idea. The chances of that being true are slim to none… Is your source trustworthy, at least?" "He… I'd like to believe he is." Shisui said. "He's on the council, so wanting a coup should be the last thing on his mind. If anything, his reasons for not wanting a coup are trustworthy." "Then why don't we spread this information to the Hyūga clan? It would certainly appease their clan head enough if he knows his daughter is safe." Itachi reasoned. "Because I don't know if the one mentioned was his daughter or not. If we give them false information, or it turns out that she is not safe, then it would only escalate the aggression." Shisui answered hurriedly, pausing once again to give Itachi a stern look. "Which is why you need to make sure that it's right." "And if it's not?" Shisui exhaled sharply. "Then I'm meeting up with my informant in a couple of days, and would send you the information long before you even get there. We'll have to figure out some other way to stop everyone from resorting to bloodshed then." "You're meeting up with them?" Itachi's eyebrows shot up, and rightful suspicion began blaring alarms in his head. "That's not a good idea." "I know." Shisui agreed. "But it's not like I am not prepared. They are an ex-Shinobi who retired due to a heavy injury, and remember that green skeleton projection I made a couple days ago?" Hesitantly, Itachi nodded as if afraid to recall the scenario. "Well, I have been testing it lately, and found that it was near invulnerable to most forms of attack." Shisui smiled a toothy reassurance. "What can a crippled Shinobi do to me in that? Even if he does gather more Shinobi to help him, then I can still easily take them. Well, as long as he doesn't bring an army, but really, what crippled council member would have that many Shinobi following him?" Again, Itachi nodded, but this time with more surety. Shisui was the epitome of genius. Having mastered the Sharingan at seven, and then unlocked another form afterwards that gave him increased abilities as well as new Jutsu, he was a force to be reckoned with. Even without his Sharingan, Shisui was the one that taught Itachi all he knew. Enemies ran from Shisui as he was the one known to almost teleport with his mastery of the Body Flicker Jutsu (Shunshin no Jutsu). Enemy Shinobi ran at the mere rumor that Shisui was even around. If there was ever a time that Itachi had seen Shisui pressed in a fight, then it was when the two of them spared while Shisui was blindfolded as well as his arms and legs having been bound together. The fight was still in his cousin's favor. Still, Itachi wasn't completely convinced. He knew that there were stronger people out there, and many of them were just lurking outside of view. "Could I know who you're going to see?" "Hm? Oh yeah, he's some guy named Danzō Shimura." Shisui answered. "I think he was part of the Third's Shinobi squad back in the day, too." Itachi nodded, engraving the name in his mind just in case. "So how is this going to happen?" Shisui smiled and began explaining. The two of them finally decided on a plan late in the afternoon, and Itachi was ready to face the world the next day. He had packed up all his stuff last night, taking the time to gather a few extra rations just in case he needed to feed two children. They had decided that Itachi would masquerade the whole thing as an abrupt Anbu mission, and search for the Hyūga heiress at where the information provided it. Shisui would message him if there was a change after he met up with the ex-Shinobi while he would do the same for whatever he found. "But why do you have to go so soon, big brother!" There was only the problem of the whining Sasuke clinging to Itachi when he announced that he was going to leave. "Because this is an important mission, Sasuke." Itachi answered calmly. "Didn't you say that you wanted to be like me when you grow up?" "Hn…" Sasuke puffed up his cheeks in his best approximation of a pouting blowfish. His big brother just smiled, poking him on the forehead with his right hand again. "Well, you're going to go on important missions sometime in the future, too. I will have to look after mother and father while you're gone like you're going to do when I'm gone." "Fine… but you have to come back quick." Sasuke gave his ultimatum, and Itachi caved quickly. "I'll be back before you know it." Itachi, finally free from the clutches of his little brother, moved slowly towards the door before throwing one last comment behind him. "Make sure you eat your vegetables, though." He could almost hear Sasuke complain that they were gross as he left. A warm smile held to his face long after he exited the confines of Konoha, and only truly melted when he felt the actual weight of his mission hit him. For a peaceful resolution without blood, Itachi was willing to give an arm and a leg so long as he completed it. He had already experienced the horrors of one war, and desperately wanted for Sasuke to not know what war even was. Whether it was for his loyalty to Konoha or his love for his brother, Itachi sped up further. The only lingering thoughts were if Shisui would be okay. However, those were forgotten when he began to pick up more and more speed. Only the mission remained in his mind. He would complete it. No one had to be hurt in the process, and everything would turn out alright.