A/N: Hey guys! Look at me, two chapters within the span of a month! I know, I know, try not to be too impressed lmao. Anyways, before we kick this one off I just wanna say I really enjoyed writing this chapter, I've actually had the event for this chapter planned out in my head since I first started writing this story, so it's nice to see them come to fruition!

IMPORTANT NOTE: This website kinda messed up my formatting for the diary entries that are scattered throughout this chapter. For this chapter, I originally had multiple words/sentences with a line through them, as if someone had written a word down, changed their mind and then crossed it out, but annoyingly enough this website wont let me do that. So, to combat that, when it is a diary entry, I've put the words that are stricken out between brackets, (like so). Hopefully this isn't too confusing, but if you wanna read it in it's original format, head over to Archive of Our Own, same username.

Anywho, on with the story!

I'm just gonna start this shit fest off by saying this wasn't my idea. (Keeping a journal seems like a such a girly thing to do. And I am not a girl!) Kushina wants me to keep a journal though. She tells me that for all my cheeriness, I can be (stubborn/distant/closed off) tight lipped when I want to be. Says a journal might (help) be good for me. I tried to say no, but, well…I've never been very good at saying no to her. Though part of me thinks that the only reason she wants me to keep this stupid thing is so she can read it when I'm not looking. (She's so-)

Well, jokes on you Kushina! You may be some master Fuinjutsu specialist, but you're not getting through this seal!

…

Fuck, I hope she doesn't.

Kushina, if you're reading this, fuck off! I might not be able to keep you out, but I can sure as hell write up a pretty good stink bomb, and I'm not afraid to use it!

-Fifty minutes previous-

Naruki, disguised as Sasuke, dashes madly through the trees, rain and trees whipping at his face as he does. Orochimaru is hot on his heels, laughing madly behind him.

"Come back, my little Uchiha-kun!"

Naruki doesn't answer, just flares his senses out a little bit to regain his bearings, does a quick direction change ninety degrees, adding chakra so he doesn't slip in the muddy earth, and keeps running.

"You're sense of direction sucks."

"Fuck off." Naruki growls aloud. "You're not helping."

Kurama, thankfully, quiets, and Naruki continues his mad dash.

"You're rather fast, Uchiha-kun!" Orochimaru says gleefully. "Almost as fast as your brother!"

Motherfucker, Naruki scowls, if I really was Sasuke that would have gotten me riled up for sure. No matter what universe Sasuke is in, I just know he'll always have a brother complex.

"Boo."

Slamming to a halt, Naruki is just in time to stop himself from slamming foreheads with Orochimaru, who is hanging from a branch right in front of him like a bat with a demented look in his eyes.

Fuck, Naruki growls, I'm so close. Just a little bit more.

Languidly lowering himself to the floor, Orochimaru wiggles his fingers in a mockery of a wave at Naruki.

"Why so skittish, Uchiha-kun." The snake drawls. "I just want to say hi!"

"Oh, I know exactly what you want, bastard." Naruki growls back, momentarily breaking character.

Orochimaru pauses for a second, a single line forming between his brows.

"Be careful. You don't want to be too obvious. If he realizes you're not Sasuke, then you've lost your bait, and then the rest of the plan goes down the toilet."

Heeding Kurama's advice, Naruki desperately searches for an excuse.

"I don't have the scroll, asshole." He manages to say in a convincing imitation of Sasuke's annoyed tone. "So you might as well just fuck off."

Thankfully, this seems to convince to sannin, because his brow soon smooths back down and he's back to looking predatorily at Naruki.

"Well, aren't you so very confident. But what if…I'm here for more than the scroll?"

That's all the warning Naruki gets. Within seconds, Orochimaru has drawn some Kunai and is methodically flicking them in Naruki's directions. Not bothering to block them, Naruki simply backflips to safety, taking the opportunity to get closer to his goal.

"Come on, Uchiha-kun!" The sannin taunts. "Show me what you've got!"

Seeing a familiar clearing just a few metres up ahead however, Naruki ignores the sannin and clears the distance to the clearing in a chakra assisted jump. The moment Naruki feels his feet come into contact with the muddy ground and sees the sannin cross into his territory, he releases a burst of chakra that subtly activates the seals around the clearing, and finally allows himself to grin.

You ready?

Kurama might not have any corporeal form at the current moment, but Naruki swears he can hear the beast cracking his knuckles.

"Fuck yeah."

Well, I've had this thing for two months now, and Kushina hasn't shown up smelling like Minato's dirty socks mixed with shit, so either my sealing skills are getting better or (more likely) Kushina is too busy with little Naruto to bother trying to dig this thing up.

So I guess that means it's safe. Though, even after knowing that…I still don't know what to write.

Hopefully I'll think of something later.

-Fourty Minutes Previous-

The boy enters a clearing, spins around, and stops.

Still trying to lure me into a trap? Foolish prey.

Orochimaru saunters into the clearing after the Uchiha, calm and assured. Hand on cocked hip, Orochimaru looks down at the boy standing in front of him, radiating silent anger.

"Finally finished running, have you?" He laughs. "But things were just getting interest-"

He doesn't finish his sentence. Isn't able to, not with the way the air is suddenly sucked out of the clearing around them by the huge fireball that immediately evaporates the rain around it. Eyes widening in surprise, Orochimaru's hands shoot into rapid hand signs.

Earth style: Earth wall.

From the ground rises a wall one metre thick, just in time to intercept the fireball. Crouching behind the wall, Orochimaru is practically able to taste the heat rolling off it, the earth cracking as it's cooked and broken by the inferno.

For a second, Orochimaru feels something like doubt enter his mind as he feels the raw power put into that singular fireball.

He shouldn't be able to do that.

But he doesn't have time to linger on that thought. A spike in his peripherals is all the warning he has, ducking under the fist that sails right where his head used to be and smashing through the wall. The debris scatters like shrapnel, cutting into both of their skins, what's left of the fireball snaking through the cracks made. Instead of falling victim to his own jutsu, however, the Uchiha dissolves into a puff of smoke.

Cursing, Orochimaru falls back from his earth wall, skidding to a stop just on the edge of the clearing, searching for his prey.

I may have underestimated him. The snake allows. He truly is just like his brother.

A hand shoots out from underneath the earth, and Orochimaru immediately springs into the air to avoid the grabbing fingers. Hand signs flying rapidly in front of him, Orochimaru takes a deep breath.

Water style: Water bullet jutsu.

Pellets of water shoot out of his mouth and rain down on the earth, adding to the already soaked clearing. They smash into the hard rock with multiple bangs of impact, putting holes in the ground like cheese. Dust kicks up into the air and hides the figure underground.

Did it hit?

Landing back on the ground, Orochimaru doesn't drop his guard. Good thing too, because suddenly, cutting through the dust, a blur surges towards him. Orochimaru is just in time to spin out of the way of a destructive haymaker, finding himself at the boys back. With a grin, Orochimaru raises a fist and prepares to deliver a crushing blow to the boys head right at his blind spot-

-only for him to duck out of the way at the last moment.

"How-" Orochimaru splutters, fist sailing just over the boys shoulder instead of into his head. The boys next move is one that should have been impossible, due to the fact that he was still very much in the boys blind spot and therefore should have no idea of the sannin's body position. Back leg inching back to redistribute his weight, the Uchiha snaps one hand up to the sannin's wrist, the other to his forearm, and shoulder throws him into the air. Expecting to be let go, the sannin prepares himself to safely land.

Once again though, the boy surprises him.

Hand tightening around the sannin's wrist, the boy lets out a war cry and uses his downward momentum to send him smashing back down into the earth.

The ground shatters underneath the impact, burying the body deep. Bones snap underneath the tight grip the Uchiha has on the sannin's wrist, and a strangled cry crawls itself out from Orochimaru's throat.

What…what is going on?

There's no time to think, no time to breath. Buried into the ground, a small crater spreading out around him, Orochimaru feels someone grab a fistful of his shirt and pull him up. Blinking his eyes free of debris and the pelting rain, Orochimaru makes eye contact with the Uchiha boy.

Red eyes with black slits look back.

"You…" Orochimaru croaks around a mouthful of blood. "You…is this the power you've been hiding, Sasuke-kun? Or…" Here, Orochimaru raises a weak hand, but a warning hiss from the boy in front of him stills it. "…are you someone else entirely?"

The Uchiha's face twists, like they found something particularly vile on the bottom of their shoe.

"Don't." The boy growls, slamming the sannin's head forcefully into the ground to illustrate his point, hair plastered to his face. "Don't say his name. You don't get to say his name."

Blood pours from the sannin's head, and the Uchiha raises him up higher, hand alighting with chakra as a blue orb begins to spin in the boys palm, tainted with red. Orochimaru's swollen eyelids widen at the sight.

Is that…rasengan?

"Time to finish this, Orochimaru!" the boy in front of him snarls. The hand surging forward to pulverise his head with the jutsu is a blur, and Orochimaru curses.

This is a problem.

Its been two years since the Kyuubi attack.

Sometimes, I'll just keep repeating that sentence to myself.

Its been two years since the Kyuubi attack. Its been two years since the Kyuubi attack. It has been two years since the Kyuubi attack.

But repeating it never manages to make it sound any more real. The people here though, they don't call it "The Kyuubi attack." Some remember that the Kyuubi managed to briefly escape, but most have forgotten. Instead, it's just another day. Just another October 10th. Just another birthday of the Hokage's son. (Fuck I wish/Why couldn't that/It's not fair)

Things are so different now. So (tense/disconnected/scary) peaceful. It's…strange.

I…I think something in me might be a little broken off. I just…can't seem to relax. Even after two years, I just…I don't know.

Sometimes I just wish that

-Thirty Minutes Previous-

Nagato's eyes snap open, eyes looking blankly at the small room situated in the Hokage tower. Konan is immediately in front of him, hands on either side of his face, staring into his unseeing eyes.

"Nagato?" She says, giving him a small shake. "What is it? What's wrong?" When he doesn't respond, she begins to grow even more worried. "Nagato!? Nagato, talk to me." Drawing her hand back, she prepares herself to send her palm smacking across his face. Nagato's hands shoots up just in time to stop her from making contact.

They both stare at each other for a short while, before Nagato gently lets go of her wrist. It falls limply to her side.

"Sorry, Konan. I'm okay, I promise."

"What happened?" Konan presses, waving aside his reassurances.

Nagato grimaces. "Somethings happening. In the forest. There's some kind of fight going on.

Konan's brow scrunches together in confusion.

"It's the chunin exams, Nagato. There's lots of fights going on right now."

Nagato blows air out of his nose in frustration.

"No," He says, a hand coming up to rake through his red hair. "This chakra is different. Angry. More volatile than any genin should be able to produce. But that's not the only weird thing."

Gently dislodging Nagato's hand away from the painful grip he has on his hair, Konan takes his hand in hers and squeezes it softly, drawing his gaze away from where it had been blankly looking to the wall behind her.

"What is it, Nagato?" She softly asks. Looking down at their clasped hands, he grips hers tightly in his own.

"This chakra. It's like there's this huge well of power somehow being concentrated in one area, and nowhere else. Power like this, it should be felt throughout the entire forest. But somehow, it seems to only cover a certain distance before it stops. It's just…not right."

Konan, long having learnt not to question the things Nagato senses with his jutsu, feels her lips tighten into a grim line.

"Should I send a message to Yuki?"

Meeting her eyes, he nods.

The bastard is nowhere to be seen. No one knows where he's gone or what he's been up to since he disappeared from the village. Two years of long nights, research, and hard work, and I've got nothing to show for it.

Once I realized this, I destroyed one of the training grounds.

Kakashi was the one to find me. He's funny, that one. Didn't say much. Just looked at the demolished training ground, looked at me, and then asked if I was feeling better now. He's not the only one to notice that I haven't been okay feeling one hundred percent. Minato randomly offered me the day off the other day, and Kushina's been breathing down my neck about eating. Tsunade nearly beat me into the ground when I turned down her invitation to drink again, and I swear Genma is this close to strangling me for being so quiet lately.

(I didn't answer Kakashi, just got up and left the training grounds without saying a word. What was I supposed to say? That I'd failed? That the second chance given to me had all been for nothing?)

Lately, I've been finding that it's just a lot easier to say nothing.

-Twenty-five minutes previous-

An ANBU with a bear mask pops up on the tree next to them, and Itachi immediately feels himself stiffen. Next to him, Yuki does the same.

"Report." Yuki orders.

The ANBU straightens, expression hidden by their mask. "Sir." They say. "We have just received word from Nagato-sama that there appears be a disturbance happening in the forest at these co-ordinates." Here, the man hands Yuki a slip of paper. Itachi hears rather than see's Yuki's brows scrunch together.

"Disturbance? What kind of disturbance?"

"He's unsure, sir, but says that there appears to be some kind of high level fight going on, inconsistent with what a genin should be able to achieve and insists that you investigate."

Yuki rises, tension thrumming in his shoulders. "Thank you, Bear. You and Itachi head back to Nagato and tell him message received. I will go investigate the disturbance."

Itachi has to use all of his training to stop himself from audibly growling. Even the ANBU sent with the message seems to almost pause at the order in confusion.

"Bear is perfectly capable of delivering that message by himself. He will go to Nagato, and we will investigate the disturbance together."

"Itachi-" Yuki begins, about to protest. Itachi cuts him off by taking a step towards Bear, his aura so threatening that the poor man looks ready to wilt. "Well?" Itachi growls. "What are you still doing here? Go!"

The ANBU, not needing to be told again and possibly not wanting to be caught between the two Kage level shinobi, flees.

Turning to follow the co-ordinates, Itachi doesn't even bother acknowledging the older man, too busy trying to hold himself back from shoving a kunai in the mans leg. If the other man is smart, he wont say anything or else risk being stabbed.

"Itachi, wait!"

Should have known.

Finally losing it, Itachi whirls on the other man, sharingan blazing through the holes in his mask. "I don't care what kind of excuse you're going to try and give me, Uzumaki. I'm tired of listening to you. I'm done." His words are as close to snarling as Itachi thinks he's ever gotten. Finding the last of his composure, Itachi squares his jaw. "After these exams, I'm telling the Hokage everything."

Though Itachi can't see his face, he knows that Yuki is looking panicked right now behind his blank mask.

"Itachi, you can't-"

"Quiet." Itachi hisses. "I've tried to tell the Hokage that there's something wrong with you from the start, but with just vague feelings to go on and no evidence he's never listened to me. And then finally, finally, I get a little glimpse at what you're planning. Finally! And part of me just wants to believe you, wants to believe that you're on our side and that you're doing what's best for us."

"I am, Itachi, I swear-"

"But at the end of the day" Itachi barrels onwards, completely ignoring the other man's interruption, "I'm a shinobi, not a priest. I'm not convinced by simple faith. And you, Uzumaki, have given me no reason to believe you except some vague references to things that might happen and a plea to trust you. And therein lies the problem. I don't."

With that, Itachi turns and runs into the forest, not even checking to see if the other man is following. It doesn't surprise him however when, after a brief pause, the Uzumaki is suddenly at his side, keeping pace. The redhead is subdued, eyes fixated on front of him and not glancing at Itachi. Together, they sprint through the forest in stilted silence, matching each other step for step.

Two minutes in, Yuki's voice breaks through the silence, so quiet it nearly gets lost in the wind.

"I'm sorry."

True to his Uchiha blood, Itachi doesn't let his surprise show in his eyes. A twitch of the finger is the only physical sign given that he's caught off guard.

"For what?" Itachi asks, two thirds bitter and one third curious.

To his side, Itachi can see that the other man has turned slightly towards him, mask lowered so that Itachi can't see his eyes.

"For failing you. Again."

And then with a small burst of chakra, the Uzumaki picks up the speed, leaving Itachi to his rising confusion and questions. As the Uzumaki zooms further ahead, Itachi thinks he catches a glimpse of yellow, but when he finally manages to catch up with his companion, the man's hair is as red as ever.

Gritting his teeth, Itachi continues to run.

Naruto crawled up into my lap today. Three years old, and he fits right under my chin. Didn't want anything, just seemed content to play with my hair while I read.

He's a really cute kid, that one. His rooms filled to the brim with presents from close family friends and even just random villagers. He's the pride and joy of the village.

-Twenty-five Minutes Previous-

During the two year fight for his village, Naruki learned a lot of things.

He learnt how to blend with the shadows, a skill he never bothered learning before when his preferred method of fighting was to obliterate everything in his path. He learned how to cool his anger into a blade instead of a raging inferno, and how to breathe even when there's blood all over his hands and pooling in his mouth.

During this time, he also took the opportunity to develop several new jutsu. New techniques. New fighting styles. This one? This justu he's going to use to kill Orochimaru once and for all?

This one was inspired by Nagato.

Naruki blinks, and abandons the sannin's body just before his rasengan makes contact, throwing himself to the side. Not a moment too soon, either, because the next second two serpents are bursting out of the trees and into the clearing from behind him, teeth poised to sink into any vulnerable flesh they can find. Rolling back to his feet, Naruki backflips the remaining distance away and takes in the new scene in front of him.

Orochimaru is slowly and painfully dragging himself out of the crater Naruki had beaten him into, head lolling to one side and face hidden by a blanket of wet hair. The man jerks a foot bent at an unnatural angle forward, stepping away from the destruction, and flicks his hair out of his face.

A crack of lightning streaks across the sky and lights up the manic smile adorning the sakes face, sending a shiver down Naruki's spine.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" The snake drawls. "You're certainly not the little Uchiha boy I was looking for! Though, you certainly are…" a tilt of the head and a smile full of teeth and body thrumming with power "interesting."

A shiver runs down Naruki's spine once the snakes chakra hits him. His hands begin to shake-

-there's blood on his hands, caked underneath his fingernails and tainting the air he breathes as-

Sweat beads uncontrollably at his forehead-

-"I'm sorry, Naruto" Kakashi manages to gasp out before he jumps, sending himself and the person controlling him over the cliff into the rocks below, his body smacking against the bottom with a loud-

His chest tightens, breathe coming out in loud wheezes-

-Tenten barely even sees the blow to the head that kills her, eyes too filled with tears as she drives her kunai into her former teammate and lovers throat-

His knees begin to shake-

-"Oh, Naruto-kun." Orochimaru says in that same bored tone that the snake has been using since they first met, "Haven't you lost enough yet?" And Naruto doesn't know what to say, what to think, what to-

"NARUTO!"

The scream rams through his mind like Tsunade's fist through a wall, propelling him back into his body. He stumbles slightly in place, nearly losing his footing as he does. Naruki draws in a hiss of breath through clenched teeth, trying to anchor himself to the present. Kurama is speaking frantically in the background, and Naruki forces himself to focus on the Kitsune's words.

"-and there's rain dripping all around you and hitting your skin making everything really fucking cold and soaking your clothes through, as well as a breeze coming from your left."

Naruki concentrates hard on the sensations Kurama is describing, slowly feeling the numbness that had entered his body fall away. The anxiety and panic don't leave, but slowly the flashbacks become easier to ignore. Kurama, sensing his hosts return, stops his rambling.

"Thank God. I thought I was going to have to take over for a second, and neither of us want that."

Still feeling slightly shaken, Naruki simply grunts in response and returns his attention to the Sannin in front of him. His episode would have taken no less than ten seconds, but Orochimaru was never one to miss out on the finer details and is looking at Naruki disguised as Sasuke with ill-conceived amusement.

Naruki growls back, canines elongating.

"I'm gonna kill you." He snarls, voice dripping with venom and power and chakra. Orochimaru, caught off guard by the pure hatred in his tone, takes a half step back.

"Oi," Kurama pipes up almost half-heartedly. "We're trying to be subtle, remember? Might wanna put away the fangs."

But Naruki doesn't have a chance to reply, because suddenly a burst of chakra returns to him, along with it a rush of new memories. Barely having a second to process the new information, Naruki is spinning himself around and grabbing a surprised Orochimaru from the neck, the version that was in front of him bursting into a puff of smoke.

"Ho-how!?" Orochimaru splutters, before any other sounds are squeezed out of him by a tight hand crushing his windpipe.

Naruki smirks.

See, he'd tried for a while to set his clones up so that there was a kind of mind link between them so they could send information live. However, being only an amateur at best when it came to seals didn't help. Neither did the fact that constantly having different minds and perspectives pouring into his own would have probably just caused for even more confusion in battle.

So, in true Naruto fashion, he'd gone for the most simple but effective route.

Shadow clones, on the outskirts of a battle field, that simply watch and then dispel themselves when something is going to happen that Naruto would have otherwise missed in situations where it is not safe to use sage mode or Kyuubi mode.

"Why even bother," Kiba had once asked on one of their more happier nights, as they all sat around the fire and drank away their sorrows. "when you can use sage mode or even just blow them up with nine tails mode? Seems like a waste if yah ask me."

"Because," he'd scowled, flicking some of his sake at Kiba's face, "Sage mode isn't exactly easy to hide, not even with Sasuke's seal. Frog eyes, remember? Neither is Kyuubi mode. And if we wanna get that asshole out of our village, we are gonna need to learn how to be subtle."

Sakura had nearly laughed herself to death at that one.

Dispelling the rest of his clones, Naruki feels his chakra flow back into him, along with a burst of energy. Squeezing even tighter, Naruki raises a chakra enhanced fist and brings it crashing down to Orochimaru's face. The sound it makes breaking his jaw is entirely too satisfying.

Minato and Kushina have asked me to be the Godfather of Naruto.

I was confused for a second. 'Isn't Jiraiya his Godfather already?' I asked. They just shrugged, and told me they don't see any reason Naruto can't have two.

(I told them I had to think about it, and then I walked away. I…I don't want to feel this way. Fuck, I wish I didn't.

But I…I just…)

Naruto is Minato and Kushina's son, and he's the cutest thing ever. I love them and him so, so much, and I can't wait to be his Godfather.

I can't wait.

-Ten Minutes Previous-

Orochimaru lies on the ground, broken at his feet. The snakes eyes are swollen shut, tongue lolling out to the side and blood caking his face. The face he is currently wearing is peeling off like a snakes skin, grotesque and dead. His arms are both bent at painful angles, and the bones of his femur and ankle are bursting through the skin of his right leg. Only the hacking rise and fall of his chest tells Naruki that he's still alive.

"Now finish it."

Sitting on top of the other mans limp figure, Naruki raises a hand laced with wind chakra ready to deliver the killing blow-

"Sasuke?"

-and stops just short of his heart.

Head whipping around, hand still raised, Naruki looks at the newcomers. Two ANBU stand at the very edge of the clearing, one with red hair and the other black, tension thrumming through their veins.

Who are they, Naruki snaps at Kurama.

Kurama pauses for a second, before answering. "It's Yuki and Itachi."

Mentally, Naruki swears.

Why didn't we sense them!?

"I…" Kurama trails off. "I don't know."

Well isn't that foreboding.

Letting the chakra coating his hand dissipate but making sure to keep an eye on Orochimaru, Naruki leans back a little, but doesn't move from his position sitting on the snakes stomach. The black haired one, presumably Itachi, steps forward.

"Sasuke, what happened?"

Panic begins to seep into his bones.

You said the seal around this area should keep people from sensing us? You said we would be fine!

"I'm just as confused as you are." Kurama growls back. "Don't go fucking taking this out on me, you must have drawn the fucking seal wrong."

I may not know shit about writing my own seals, but I can sure as fuck copy and paste them when I need to. I know I wrote the seal right!

"Oh, like you definitely wrote the time travel seal right? Because that went so fucking perfectly, didn't it?!"

If Naruki were in his mindscape with Kurama right now, he would be strangling him.

"Sasuke!"

Breaking out of his domestic with the hundreds of years old chakra beast, Naruki tunes his attention back into the clearing.

Oh, right. Itachi and Yuki are here. And Orochimaru is underneath me. And I am currently disguised as Sasuke. Great.

Itachi, apparently fed up, pushes up his mask so that it sits on top of his head, revealing a very angry Uchiha underneath. Underneath him, Orochimaru stirs slightly.

"Sasuke…" Itachi squints at him, blinking heavily for a second as if trying to rid dust from his eyes. "You are Sasuke…right? Or…" Here, Itachi whips around to his companion with such a look of open confusion on his face that Naruki would have laughed if this were any other situation. He blinks his eyes heavily, as if trying to clear them, looking back and forth between Naruki and Yuki, but whatever he was trying to accomplish seems to have failed as he continues to look lost.

Yuki, by his side, is stone still. Since entering the clearing, he's barely twitched a finger. Tracking the direction his mask is turned in however, Naruki can vaguely see that all his attention is on Orochimaru underneath him.

"Please," Naruki says, his tone verging on begging. "I know this is crazy, and confusing, and you're wondering what the fuck is going on right now. I get it. And…" Here, Naruki gulps down whatever emotions are trying to crawl their way up his throat. "I promise you, if you just let me do this one thing, then I will tell you everything you need to know."

Finally, some life seems to surge back into Yuki as his head snaps back to Naruki at his words. Itachi too, is looking helplessly at what he thinks must be his adorable little brother about to murder some seemingly innocent person in the middle of his chunin exams.

"What's going on right now?" Itachi asks, voice bordering now on alarm. "Where's Naruto and Sakura? Are you injured? What's happening, Sasuke!?"

"Itachi, please." Naruki tries again, cutting them man off before he can gain any more momentum with his questions. "I'll tell you everything after. Just…please."

And looking into Itachi's eyes, who in any universe Naruki knows would give everything up time and time again for his brother, Naruki knows he's going to fold.

"No."

He just didn't account for the other.

Turning his attention back again to Yuki, Naruki sees that the other man has finally taken his mask off as well. His eyes are practically glued to Orochimaru's comatose form pinned beneath Naruki, eyes refusing to waver from the image for even a second. Almost as if the action of blinking would tear it away from him.

"You can't tell them. If you tell them anything, then people will die. You have to keep it a secret."

Naruki, completely thrown for a loop and slightly creeped out by the somewhat manic expression in the redheads face, gives out a startled "Hu-huh?" In response. Yuki, still not tearing his eyes off of Orochimaru, takes a step towards Naruki. And Naruki, despite himself, despite the fact that the man who has been terrorising him and the people he loves (loved) since he was twelve, turns all his attention to the other man in front of him. This man, whose expression is so desperate and yet hopeful that Naruki thinks he might have seen it somewhere before. Almost subconsciously, his chakra reaches out to the other man, as if to get a feel for him.

All he gets back is a feeling of emptiness.

"Who…what…what's going on here?" Naruki asks.

But the other man ignores the question, and looks into his eyes with deadly seriousness.

"We can't tell them. We can't."

Naruki's brain stutters to a halt.

"What do you mean we."

A hacking cough pulls underneath him pulls Naruki's attention away from Yuki. Head lolled back against the grass, blood staining his teeth red, Orochimaru cackles.

"Hah…haha…hahahahaha!"

Recoiling slightly for an instant, Naruki looks down at the snake underneath him in disgust.

"What are you laughing about, asshole!?"

Orochimaru's laughter ceases, but his smile only grows.

"Just…at…Itachi." The sannin says in between painful heaves of breath. "It's just…you would think…he'd be able…to tell…the difference…between his brother…and…an imposter."

There's a harsh intake of breath from Naruki's right, Naruto briefly clenching his eyes and pulling in a hiss of air through his teeth.

"What?" Comes a harsh question amongst a crack of lightning across the sky. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't listen to him!" Naruki shouts, a little desperately at Itachi who's expression is steadily turning more and more dangerous, "He's just trying to get into your head!"

"Maybe." Orochimaru allows, blood bubbling around the corners of his mouth. "But am I…wrong? Unless Sasuke…somehow learnt the rasengan…and became Kage level…in the last day…I think your brother…" And here Orochimaru rolls his head to the side and looks Itachi in the eye with a wide-eyed smile. "Might be in trouble."

Between one breath and the next, Naruki knows he's screwed.

Something with the strength equivalent to a truck moving at full speed hits him from the side, and Naruki goes flying off Orochimaru's body. Grabbing the person on top of him, Naruki uses their rolling momentum to try and plant himself on top, but Itachi is too quick and much too angry to let that happen. With a well-placed jab to the shoulder, Naruki feels his left arm lose all strength and is quickly over powered by the other man. Once they have stopped rolling, Itachi on top with a hand around Naruki's throat and a knee digging into his stomach, Naruki gives a heartfelt groan.

Goddamn Uchiha's, always fucking my shit up!

Itachi doesn't give him a chance to dwell too long on his predicament however. Knee digging even deeper into the soft flesh of his stomach, Itachi grabs a handful of Naruki's shirt and brings his face close.

"Where. Is. My brother." Itachi practically snarls, sharingan flaring red for everyone to see.

"Itachi, please!" Naruki says, going to put his hands up in surrender but a warning growl from Itachi stills the movement. "Look, I know this looks bad, but you have to trust me, okay! I admit it, I'm not your brother, but I'm also not the enemy!"

"Itachi." A hand clasps the mans shoulders, giving him a little tug. "Let him go." Yuki goes to pull the man off Naruki, but a flare of Itachi's chakra quickly warns the other man off.

"Don't think I'm done with you either, Uzumaki." Itachi bites out, not taking his eyes off Naruki. "You've avoided my questions for far too long. That ends today."

If Yuki were a lesser man, he might have gulped. Naruki, loosing his patience, finally snaps.

"Itachi, we will do this later, but right now I need to take care of Orochimaru!"

Finally, the mans grip loosens on his collar, eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"Orochimaru?"

Scoffing, Naruki jerks a finger in Orochimaru's general direction. "Yeah, that asshole over there? That's the sannin-"

But when all three of them turn to look in the direction Naruki is pointing, the snake is gone. Terror, like Naruki has felt before, settles in his gut.

"No." He whispers, sitting up abruptly and dislodging Itachi's form from him. "No, no, no!"

"No." Another voice gasps out in despair, joining his own. "No, this can't be."

But it's too late. Orochimaru, despite the fact that he shouldn't even be able to move properly let alone run, has used their own distraction against them, and fled.

Together, Naruki and Yuki scream, the sound wrenching up from their lungs and clawing it's way out of their throats. Chakra amplifies the sound, ripping through the clearing like an inferno, Itachi shielding his eyes from the sudden blinding red light that briefly illuminates their surroundings.

And then, both men disappear in pursuit of their prey.

Itachi, feeling wrong footed but determined to get answers, follows.

Hinata was nearly kidnapped tonight. Three weeks of scouting the village finally paid off. Looking down at baby Hinata in my arms, and then delivering the perpetrator to ANBU Black Ops was probably the best, and most in control I've felt in years. Everything I've been working towards, and this was my first success since that October 10th all those years ago.

'That was me,' I tell myself as I watch Neji hug his father and then give Hinata a reserved but happy smile. 'I changed history. I did that.'

'And if I can change this, I can change everything else.'

-Present-

Sasuke, Sharingan activated, leads his team through the forest towards the source of the sound. Squinting through the rain, Sasuke jumps over a large rock, through a small section of bush, and keeps running.

"Sasuke, wait!" Sakura shouts, and her voice brings him to a halt. Turning back around, he sees her carefully shrugging Naruto off her shoulders and onto the ground.

"What is it?" Sasuke asks, looking at Sakura and then Naruto. "Why'd we stop? What's wrong? Is Naruto-"

"Be quiet for a second, would ya, Bastard."

Mouth snapping shut, Sasuke looks down at his blond teammate. Naruto, eyes blinking open blearily, stares back at him. Sakura is immediately at his side, hands alight with green chakra as she runs them up and down his body.

"What happened back there, Naruto?" Sasuke asks, cutting straight to the point. Naruto, hand braced on the ground to push him into a sitting position, body slick with mud, sits up slowly. Sakura helps him with a hand on his elbow and another on the small of his back. Naruto, smiling softly to Sakura in thanks, looks to Sasuke. His face scrunches in concentration.

"I…I don't know. For a second though, it felt like my heart was trying to tear itself out of my chest, and then Kurama started reacting like crazy and thrashing about and it just kinda…overloaded me, I guess."

Both Sasuke and Sakura look at Naruto. They both tried their best to understand Naruto's Jinchurikki status, but it was times like this that showed them how truly out of their depth they were.

Sakura, clearly satisfied that for the most part Naruto was fine, pulls him into standing. Sasuke is quick to regain his feet also.

"We're heading towards the scream we heard." Sakura briskly reports. "Sasuke's is leading us. Are you okay to run?"

There are many questions Naruto could think to ask about the situation, but he has long since learnt to trust his teammates, and right now the tightness in both their expressions tells him they don't have time to be dawdling.

Giving his shoulder a roll to loosen them, Naruto nods. "I'm ready whenever you are."

Sakura, shoulders sagging slightly in relief, nods back. With another glance at Sasuke, they're off again.

And they're back to running.

The mud generated from the rain makes the terrain slippery, but a thin coating of chakra is enough to counter the wet surface.

"We're almost there!" Sasuke shouts back at his teammates who follow behind, raising his voice so he can be heard over the wind. "Another ten minutes and-"

And then through the trees bursts a figure, running like the demon is on their tail. Immediately, Sasuke grinds to a halt, his teammates following suit, almost running into him.

The person in front of them takes in Sasuke's team, and Sasuke has to fight to stop his mouth from curling in disgust.

"What the fuck happened to you?" He asks before he can stop himself. A nudge in the ribs from Sakura berates him for his lack of tact, but in Sasuke's defence he really can't be blamed for his outburst.

The man in front of him looks like he's been dragged behind the back of a carriage, clothes barely hanging onto his thin frame and face peeling off at the edges, blood covering everything. His eyes are both swollen shut, arm bent at an unnatural angle, and if Sasuke looks close enough he can see bones protruding out from underneath the skin of his ankle and femur.

Someone, Sasuke thinks, really wanted this guy to suffer.

But the most disturbing thing of all, however, isn't the mans appearance. It the way his mouth split into a distorted smile the moment he laid eyes on them, pulling in a delighted laugh through his cracked teeth.

"Well!" The man cackles, "Maybe this wasn't a waste after all!"

Immediately, Sasuke is on guard, and feels his teammates stiffen beside him.

"We have to run." Sakura says from beside him, voice trembling slightly. Fighting the urge to turn to her in bewilderment, Sasuke settles for scoffing.

"What are you talking about? This guy is half dead already!"

"Sasuke's right, Sakura-chan!" Naruto pipes up as well, legs tensing in preparation to spring forward "We can totally take him!"

"No!" Sakura grabs the both of them by their collars, bodily dragging them back. "Somethings wrong with this guy! Someone's obviously gone through a lot of trouble to kill him, and they still failed. We need to run, now!"

"Sorry, but I can't allow that."

The man is suddenly right in front of them, eyes gleaming. A well placed backhand sends Sakura skidding across the ground and into a tree, a kick winding Naruto and sending him to his knees. All of this happens in the blink of the eye. One minute Sasuke's teammates are standing next to them, and the next they're not.

Sasuke's hands begin to shake.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouts around a mouthful of blood. "Shadow clones. Now!"

Naruto, still trying to gasp in breaths through lungs that are trying to collapse inwards, raises his hands up in his signature sign.

"Shadow clone jutsu!

Immediately, with a burst a smoke, the clearing is filled to the brim with orange and blue. Hundreds of clones surround them, successfully separating Sasuke from the man in front of him. To his right, Sasuke see's Sakura holding her hands up in the seal for concentration. Sasuke, following suit, clasps his hands in front of him, and feels the seal on his back begin to warm.

"Here. Take this."

Sasuke is just in time to catch the scroll thrown haphazardly in his direction before it hits him in the forehead, and scowls at the other man. Naruki only grins cheerily back.

"What's this?" Sasuke asks, Sakura and Naruto crowding around him to get a better look as he unravels the scroll.

"A little reward." Naruki answers. "For mastering those jutsu's I gave you in such a short time. You guys deserve it."

The seal written out on the parchment is like nothing Sasuke has seen before. Naruto, however, squints in concentration at the scroll.

"Is this…a transformation seal?"

Naruki nods. "Yup. One of the best there is. Not even Sharingan or the Byakugan can see through that seal, and even better, it only works for you three, no one else! You can also potentially stay under that transformation seal for ever and not loose your original form. Cool, right?"

"A permanent seal?" Sakura pipes up in wonder, "You've gotta be kidding! No one's ever made a permanent one before!"

"Yeah well, you better believe it." Naruki grins.

"Who made this!? This is amazing! They must be some kind of amazing Fuinjutsu master!"

For a second, Naruki's eyes slant over to Sasuke, as they have done so many times before with the other man thinks he's not watching. Once he realizes he's been caught, however, his eyes quickly flit back to Sakura, and his grin widens, looking almost shit eating.

"Nah, he wasn't a master, just some grumpy bastard I used to know with a permanent stick up his ass."

The plan was, if they ever needed to run, then Naruto would make some clones. Once that was done, they would all activate their seals, transform themselves into Naruto look-alikes, and then flee in the chaos. Sasuke feels a slight flare of chakra as Sakura transforms, and where there was previously a pink haired kunoichi now stands another knuckleheaded ninja.

Focusing his chakra into the seal, Sasuke feels it flare up on his back, feels the seal read his intent and begin to glow-

And then he feels the seal on his back putter out and die. Eyes snapping open in confusion, Sasuke looks down at his hands, only to find them still as pale as they usually are, no golden tan that Naruto possesses.

Fuck. It didn't work.

And now, it's too late, because Orochimaru has dispersed all the clones closest to him, has spied the only non-orange person in the clearing, and is steadily making his way over.

Through the sea of orange, the man makes eyes contact with Sasuke, and he feels his chest tighten. In a panic, his hands fly through hand signs on automatic.

Fire style: Fireball Jutsu.

The fireball smashes through the Naruto clones and right towards the man, dispersing the clones in its vicinity, a few shouting in protest. But Sasuke barely hears them.

Run! Now! Something in his head screams at him, bordering on a plea. Get out of there!

But there's only so much he can do. Bursting through the flames, seemingly uncaring of the way the fire eats at his already shedding skin, the mans neck elongates and heads towards him at a frightening speed, teeth bared and ready.

"Sasuke, no!"

But whoever the voice belongs too, they're already too late. When the man's teeth sink into his neck, Sasuke feels his blood begin to boil and burn him from the inside out as his body is forcibly injected with some foreign substance.

Clutching at his neck, Sasuke screams.

Four years have passed since I came back. Or five, depending on how you look at it. These days, I find it a lot easier to breath. To speak. To be.

I've improved my skills a lot. I'm getting there. There's no hint of the bastard anywhere, try as I might to track him down. I don't know where he is in this time, in the here and now.

But I sure as fuck know where he's going to be in the future. And when the time comes? I'm gonna be ready for it.

Naruki and Yuki both try and scream a warning out to Sasuke, but it is already too late. Itachi breaks through the treeline just after them, expression a drawn mask of horror as he takes in the scene in front of him.

"Otouto!"

Orochimaru wastes no time, teeth breaking delicate skin and sinking his poison into Sasuke's body. Naruki doesn't know whose scream is louder, Itachi's or Sasuke's.

"You bastard!" Naruki growls. Yuki, not breaking his stride, smashes into Orochimaru, dislodging the snake's teeth from Sasuke's neck with a wet 'schlick' and sending them both tumbling to the ground. Sasuke's body slumps to the ground, unconscious, and Itachi is just in time to catch his baby brother. Orochimaru's neck retracts back into his body rapidly, head snapping back into place on his neck and looking at Yuki with a cackle.

"Finally found me, Uzumaki?"

Yuki snarls, and brings a fist down into the sannin's forehead with a roar, sending the snakes head snapping back against the dirt with a sickening crack. The snakes body tenses underneath Yuki's for a second, and then stills. For one breathless instant, Naruki thinks the snake is dead. A closer look however reveals the sannin's chest to be slowly but surely moving up and down with stuttered breaths. Sitting on his chest, Yuki takes in deep heaving breaths, fist shaking slightly as he looks down at the sannin for even the most miniscule of movements. When the sannin still doesn't move, Yuki allows his fist to drop shakily to his side.

"No." Yuki whispers, voice a broken memory of what it usually is as he looks down at the sannin underneath him. "No. No, no, no."

Itachi, clutching the body of his baby brother, looks ready for murder. Itachi's eyes flicker down to his brother, unconscious. They flicker sideways to Yuki, a man lost in his own torment. They dart over the where Naruki stands, hands limp at his sides and still disguised as his brother. They ignore Naruto and what Naruki presumes is Sakura disguised as Naruto, hovering anxiously around their fallen teammate.

The Uchiha's eyes spin dangerously, and his mangekyo manifest within.

"You two have ten seconds to start talking, before I put you under my Tsukuyomi and we see just how resilient the two of you are."

Gulping, Naruki looks into Itachi's eyes, and knows that there is no lie there.

Fuck.

Sasuke's scream rings throughout his brain, a constant cacophony of sound to his internal cry.

No, please. Yuki begs.

Please, not again. Please.

Please,

Please.

A/N: Lol so a couple people were screaming at me for the cliffhanger at the end of chapter 9, and all I could remember thinking was "damn if you hate that then you're really gonna hate chapter 10 lmao."

But anyways, a lot happened this chapter! You got the fight with Orochimaru, more information on Yuki, Itachi starting to really lose his shit at everything going on and finally Team Seven walking straight into a shit storm. Not gonna lie, this was a very fun chapter for me to write haha.

There's gonna be many questions after this chapter, I know. How did Sakura use the transformation seal? Why couldn't Sasuke use the seal? And what the FUCK is going on with Yuki? All I can say is that everything will eventually be revealed in due time.

Hopefully this chapter wasn't too confusing to read with it skipping around quite a bit, I tried to make it as easy to follow as possible.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and see you next time!