Author's Note: Wow, sorry for the long wait, everyone! So, this is my first time really digging into the world-building, so forgive me if it's not very good. Although I am having fun with this so I hope that you guys forgive the late update and continue to enjoy! Let me know what you think!

"As astute as always, Itachi," Kakashi says, impressed. He crosses his arms over his chest. He steps back into the cave a bit to get away from the toxic chakra and turns toward Itachi again. "You're right. That is definitely a chakra ley line."

The two shinobi lean against the separate sides of the pathway, turning to look at each other. "I guess I can understand now where all the chakra metal comes from," Itachi admits softly. "I just honestly can't believe that this little village was sitting on a ley line all this time. One mistake, like mining in the wrong place, would have been enough to poison this area for a long time - if not indefinitely."

Kakashi rolls his ankles a bit with his arms still across his chest. "You aren't wrong, and now that we know it's here, we can't just pretend that it isn't. Unfortunately, we don't have the tools necessary to seal it up. The last chakra ley line that I had come across was already contained by a kingdom of people a long time prior. It is possible, but I'm not sure how we would be able to do it." He looks down at their feet set next to each other. Itachi's feet separated enough for Kakashi's to settle between his as the two stared at one another in the narrow passage.

"All that matters right now is that it is possible to seal up," Itachi says, nodding to himself. "We're just going to have to be creative with how we do it, is all."

Kakashi half shrugs his shoulders and tips his head a bit. "I suppose," he admits, "but I'm not sure how we're going to do that."

Itachi feels the corners of his lips turn up slightly. "And here I was, thinking I was the only one who was planning way far in advance." Itachi let out a slow breath, running a hand through his long fringe before saying, softly, "There isn't anything for us to do now, but I just wanted someone else to know what was going on too. I'm hoping when the time comes we can both come up with ideas together."

Kakashi nods. "I get it. And I'll offer this some thought and see if I come up with an idea that might help us." His dark eye finds Itachi's but he looks beyond the younger boy. No doubt remembering the last time he came across a ley line, which Itachi hadn't know about until his former ANBU Captain had just mentioned it. But he supposed it just went to show how little he knew about the older man. Kakashi was a wealth of well-kept secrets if Itachi's ever seen one.

"I'll come with you guys today to the nearby villages," Itachi says, letting out a slow sigh. "As much as I would love to simply look around this place, I have more pressing things to see to for now."

Kakashi nods slowly, turning to look at the cavern one last time before turning his eyes back to Itachi. "I understand. This place is interesting and foreign, but it is our new home so we'll be here for a while and will have plenty of time to explore. Once things are set in motion, perhaps we can set aside some time to really look around and set up strategic points for protection around the village."

"Good idea," Itachi murmurs before turning and heading down the tunnel, following the marks he left behind to help lead them back to the entrance. This was another place that he wanted to explore as well. There were so many pathways that could lead all over the place and Itachi would like to know if there are other ways into the village or not before proceeding too far along. So once they made it to the opening to the tunnels Itachi and Kakashi place seals around the entrance to alert them if someone was to enter.

The two head back to the village - well, the shanties, as it's not really a village just yet - side-by-side as the sun begins to peek over the horizon. Near the dirt path on the opposite side of their home, Itachi can already see Shisui, Fugaku, and Shizune gathering. They are going as a larger band this time, to make as much money and information gathering as possible. Shizune is confident that everyone is as healthy as they can be given the lack of proper medical care for the village, and has opted to leave the village to go with Fugaku to look for the master builder, Tetsuya Hiroshi, as well as get a better lay of the land and to see if there was anyone in desperate need of medical attention.

Kakashi, Shisui, and Itachi are going to get as many missions as they can under their belt to earn as much money as possible, and Itachi wanted to see the village leader. Maybe they can establish an alliance of sorts, or at least, Itachi can get a feel for who they are.

"You two left early this morning," Shizune says, offering a pretty smile their way.

"I had something I wished to show Kakashi," Itachi says, offering a little nod to Shisui who pats him on the shoulder when he stops next to him. "I'll tell you guys about it later."

"Should we get going then?" Fugaku says, folding a piece of paper and sticking it into his sleeve.

Itachi raises an eyebrow at his father. "Something you wish to share with the rest of us, father?"

Fugaku sighs, giving Itachi a droll look that he immediately recognizes. "A... request from your mother, my boy. A high endeavor I fear."

Itachi tilts his head slightly, staring at his father. "Did... she write out a list of things?" Fugaku nods. "And you don't think you can get them?"

"They wouldn't be so difficult to get at the shops back in Konoha," Fugaku says, feeling like he has to defend his worry over not being able to complete the task set out for him. "But you didn't see the shops in the nearby village. They're bad."

Itachi frowns, worriedly. "I see. Well, let me know what it is, I'll help keep my eyes open for whatever it is."

"Just supplies for the school as well as some household products."

Itachi smiles lightly. "She wants to try and make life a bit easier."

Fugaku smiles back in understanding. "Yeah, she does."

"We'll all keep our eyes out for stuff, then," Shisui says, smiling broadly.

Shizune smiles brightly, her eyes closed with crinkles around them. "You boys are silly," she muses, opening her eyes and clasping her hands behind her back. "Come on, let's get out of here."

They split up once they get to the village. Fugaku and Shizune split off in one direction while Kakashi, Shisui, and Itachi head toward the shopping district. And Fugaku had been right, this village was larger than their village, but it was showing in its people. The streets were filled with the destitute and the downtrodden, eyes downcast and sullen, having lost the will to go on.

Itachi's heart bleeds from them. They truly have lost it all. The venders smile at the fresh faces, but even then it's worn and tired. There is no life here. Everyone seems to be hanging on by a thread in hopes of surviving. Itachi stops, Kakashi and Shisui stop at his flanks, as he looks around at the shops, seeing a lot of sparsely stocked shelves coupled with people, dirty and thin, littering the street.

Itachi isn't used to this sight. He knows that there are places around the continent that aren't doing as well as Konoha, but this is far from what he could have imagined. The village is bigger, more densely populated than his new home, but at least everyone that lived there lived in homes. But not here. In fact, just peering around, some of the nearby buildings beyond the shopping district look like they are condemned.

Somehow, surprisingly, Itachi's little home village almost looks like it's in better shape than this village. Plus this one looks older, more established. Itachi didn't know the history of his new village but it's younger than this one.

He takes a moment to absorb all of this into himself, to accept that this is the reality of probably all of the villages across this land. He was fortunate to have found a home in a nice place, but now that he's seeing with his own eyes, he can't ignore it. He can't pretend that these people aren't suffering just next door to him. The Land collapsed into civil war fifty years ago, but this place, this Land, has been degrading steadily over a very long period of time.

And it's heart-breaking.

Itachi knew that there wasn't anything that he could do for them today, but he vowed, silently to himself, that he would do something. Anything he could to make their lives better. No one deserved to live like this. In dirt and filth without a will to live. It's soul-crushing.

"It'll be okay," Itachi says, more to himself than anyone. Today may not help any of these people, but hopefully, tomorrow will.

Shisui and Kakashi split off not long after to look for odd jobs while Itachi window-shopped, keeping an eye out for anything that would be beneficial to the village - which he honestly didn't expect to find - as well as things for their little home and the school.

Itachi heard the sound of running and laughter and felt the small body run right into his side. Thankfully, years of training kept him sure-footed as the other went toppling to the ground.

Stunned, the kid - a year or so older than Sasuke - looks up at him, with wide, dark eyes.

Itachi turns slowly to look down at the kid, tilting his head slightly, taking in the boy's ratty clothes and dirty appearance. The poor kid looks like he hasn't had a decent meal his entire life. He's basically skin and bones and Itachi feels for him. After a baited moment of the boy trying to collect himself, Itachi reaches out a hand for the boy to take.

"Are you okay?"

The boy scrambles to his feet without taking Itachi's hand. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine! Watch where you're going, okay?" And without another word, the kid sprints off as fast as his legs can take him, rounding a corner and into a dark alley and vanishing from sight.

Itachi stands there for a moment, staring off after him as the vendor next to Itachi selling some horrible looking carrots says, "That boy just stole from you, son. You'd better make sure you still have your coin purse."

Itachi turns to look at the older man with dark eyes. "I know," he says. "I let him."

The man seems surprised, blinking rapidly. "Why would you do that?"

Itachi shrugs, glancing around as people go about, not seeming to notice them or try to involve themselves in what's going on. Something tells Itachi that this is a normal reception for new people. "I wanted to see if he was any good at it."

The man crosses his arms over his chest, shaking his head as if this was beyond what he was expected. "And... uh... how was he?"

"Terrible," Itachi admits, smiling lightly. "He's a terrible thief."

"Huh," the man grunts, pressing his lips together tightly.

Itachi nods reaching over to grab one of the better-looking carrots, dropping a couple of yen on the table for the man before turning toward the dark alley.

"Uh, wait, son! Don't you want your change?" The vendor calls out to him.

"No, thank you," Itachi says, shaking his head. The leaves kick up, spinning around his feet and then up to his body as he vanishes with a flicker of the body, leaving a street of stunned people behind.

Itachi tracks the boy down quickly looking at the little purse in his hands with a frown on his lips when Itachi drops down in front of him. The boy jumps at the sight of Itachi. He gasps, dropping the purse and falling down onto his bottom, staring up at him with wide, brown eyes like Itachi had punched him. He shakes a bit for a moment before steeling himself and jumping to his feet.

"Wh-What do you want?" He asks like he didn't steal from Itachi and couldn't believe that Itachi would have tracked him down. Itachi tilts his head slightly, barely managing to open his mouth before the boy quickly says, "I didn't take anything."

Itachi blinks slowly before lowering his eyes to the decoy coin purse he always carries on him laying on the ground between them. The boy looks down at it too as if forgetting that it was there.

"That's not mine," the boy says, then realizes what he said. He quickly backtracks with, "I mean, it is. I found it. So it's mine now."

Itachi reaches toward the boy and flicks him in the forehead, stopping anything else from leaving the boy's lips. He blinks a few times rapidly, staring up at Itachi like he was going to suddenly start beating on him for stealing from him. That probably wouldn't be the first time something like that has happened to him. And once more, Itachi's heart is filled with sadness as he reaches down and picks up the coin purse with his unoccupied hand, inspecting it for dirt before stuffing it into his pocket once more.

"Don't try that again," Itachi says, looking at the boy as he rubs his forehead. "The last thing you would want is to take from someone that is far more unforgiving than I am. Little thieves end up with their hands chopped off, especially bad ones," Itachi warns. The boy swallows thickly, eyes blown wide.

"I... I'm sorry..."

"How about a simple business arrangement?" Itachi asks, easily, tilting his head slightly. "I'll give you this," he holds up the carrot for the boy to see, "if you give me some information in return."

The boy's dark eyes follow the carrot's motion, hungrily. Itachi crosses his arms, hiding the carrot when the boy doesn't immediately respond. The action snaps the boy out of the hypnosis the idea of some form of food filling his belly put him under. He swallows a few times, focusing wearily on Itachi's face before asking, "What kind of information?"

"Nothing bad," Itachi says easily. "Just tell me whatever it is you know about your village leader."

The boy's face sours, which Itachi doesn't like one bit. "Why do you want to know about him? He's a monster."

"Just tell me," Itachi says, keeping his expression even as to not influence whatever the boy was going to say. He wanted an honest opinion from someone who lived there and probably lived under the radar, despite his thievery. He was young, unassuming, and could probably hear everything the adults were talking about if he paid attention. Itachi had no use for his poor pilfering skills, but his sleuthing might be more beneficial.

"He's a bad man," the boy growls, furrowing his brows. "He hurts our people. He sent my dad away. He makes my mom cry. I hate him. He comes and says that if we just paid our taxes, dad would get to come home, but mom's sick. She can't pay for anything. I really, super-duper hate him."

Itachi feels a frown pull at the corners of his mouth but he fights it for a neutral look. "And where is your father?"

The boy shrugs, looking down, but the anger mists up his eyes a bit. "I don't know. Just the bad place. That's where all the men like dad go when they fight the Master."

"The master?" Itachi echoes. "Is that the leader of the village?"

The boy nods, wiping away deceitful tears before looking at Itachi. "Why are you here? Why do you want to know?"

"I'm here looking for supplies for my village," Itachi answers honestly, holding out the carrot for the boy to take. "And I want to know because I care."

The boy hesitates, looking between Itachi and the carrot as if he wasn't sure if he could trust him. After a moment of debate, the boy rips the carrot from Itachi's hand fast enough to give Itachi the impression that the boy feared he would go back on their deal and take the carrot back. He holds the orange vegetable to his chest, eyeing Itachi suspiciously.

"You're wrong," the boy says, his face was drawn and sad. "No one cares. No one ever did." And with that, the boy runs off, and Itachi lets him. He got what he was looking for, and a bit more.

Even if the information itself left much to be desired, at the very least, at least now Itachi knew. And he could work with what he knew, it was the unknowns that always left him stonewalled. So, either the able-bodied people that were sent away for... not paying "taxes" were either killed or perhaps being held captive somewhere for one reason or another.

Itachi doesn't like the idea one bit of what could have become of those people. And if they are still alive out there, Itachi has vowed to find them.

"Did you hurt him?"

Itachi stops from where he's walking down the street almost an hour later, turning to see the old vendor from earlier. Itachi blinks a few times, not sure he heard the man right or not. He glances around to see that no one else was paying attention to them, either sitting, or laying with their eyes turned down toward the ground, or walking about as if they were in their own little world, ignoring the human right's violation all around them.

It takes a second for Itachi to fully pull himself from his thoughts. "Pardon?"

"That boy," the man says grimly.

"What about him?" Itachi asks casually.

The man hesitates before asking, "Did you hurt him? Is he dead?" Even though he asks, the man looks like he doesn't really want to know the answer, but almost feels like he has to know.

Curiously, Itachi tilts his head. "Why do you ask?"

The man kneads his hands in front of himself a bit. "I've been coming here for years," he admits. "I knew the boy's father. He's a good man, stern, but good. I... haven't seen him in a long time, though. I promised that I would keep an eye out for his son, should anything happen."

Itachi turns completely to face the man behind him, studying him closely. Itachi doesn't know him any more than he knows the boy from earlier, but Itachi knows how to read people, as an heir to a powerful clan, the Hokage candidate, an ANBU Captain - even if for a short time - and as a shinobi, since he was four years old. It is Itachi's business to watch people. To get to know them without needing to speak with them. Itachi wasn't much of a conversationalist anyway, so simply observing people was a pastime of his.

And invaluable to him.

This man... seems genuine. Tired and worn down by his promise, but there is a genuine worry in his eyes. He doesn't want anything to have happened to that boy. If that was because of this promise, or because of some other reason, Itachi doesn't know. But Itachi doesn't sense anything malicious from this man. He just seems like someone concerned for someone else. Someone he doesn't have to be worried about, but worries anyway.

Itachi can emphasize with that.

There is a long moment of silence, so the man asks again, softly, "The boy. What did you do to the boy?"

"I gave him the carrot," Itachi says, quietly, staring into the man's eyes. He watches as the worry freezes in his eyes and transforms into confusion and the surprise and disbelief.

"You... gave it to him..?" The man asks slowly, surprised.

Itachi nods, turning slightly to see Kakashi and Shisui both heading toward him with a couple of missions for them to undertake for the rest of the day. They meet up and are about to leave when the man calls out to him.

"Why, son? Why would you do that?"

Itachi looks at Shisui, then at Kakashi, then back toward the man, saying, softly, "Because I care." Not at all concerned whether the man believed him or not. He doesn't care if anyone believed him. He does care, he's always cared.

That is what people have always tried to use as his weakness, but to him, it has always been his greatest strength. He cares, so he will do what he must. Even if he ends up being the monster.

They complete all the missions that Kakashi and Shisui managed to scrounge together between the three of them, and a few more before coming across Fugaku and Shizune nearing the end of the day. Over the course of the day, there was a very clear shift in the people, and Itachi wasn't sure what it was that changed until they came across their other two companions.

"I have to head home for the day," Shizune was saying, patting the hand of an old withered woman. "I'll come back and see you tomorrow, okay?"

The woman nods, looking up at Shizune as if she was an angel that had descended from heaven itself. "Oh, thank you, my lady. Thank you."

Itachi smiles softly as Shizune makes her way over to them, everyone that she passes by looks at her with admiration and love. As soon as she reaches Itachi, she makes a show of bowing with a sweet, "My lord." To which Itachi rolls his eyes and waves the pleasantry away, already knowing what she's doing and honestly embarrassed that she would do it.

She offers him a playful smile, and Shisui laughs at his side, elbowing him a bit in the ribs while Fugaku makes his way over, looking more troubled than anything.

"Uh-oh," Kakashi murmurs in Itachi's ear. "I recognize that look."

"As do I," Itachi murmurs back before asking louder, "Is something wrong, father?"

"Yes," Fugaku admits. "I met with Hiroshi, the master builder, and he is unwilling to help us without meeting with you first."

Itachi blinks a few times, confused, before sighing. "Very well. Shall we go to meet with him now?"

Fugaku shakes his head. "No. He doesn't want to meet with you now. He said to come again tomorrow, and he'll let you know if he's ready or not. And if he's not, to come again the next day."

Shisui crosses his arms over his chest. "What in Kami's name is he going to ask us to do that for? As if we don't have a billion other things that we should be doing. Does this guy want to play games with us? No deal. We can find someone else."

"I get why you're upset, Shisui," Kakashi says, ever the mediator, "but he's a master builder and something tells me that he's probably the closest one to us, and perhaps the best. Not everything can come easily, unfortunately. If he's as good as the rumors say, then he'll be worth the effort we have to put into persuading him." Kakashi sighs, crossing his arms over his chest. "Not that this isn't a pain, I'm sure, but I guess ultimately it's your choice on what we do, Itachi."

"I'm not the only one with a voice," Itachi says softly. "We need to all work together. If he wants me to stop by every day for a year to prove I'm serious about getting his help, well, then I'll be able to keep taking missions to help fund our village until then."

"That's a very admirable way of looking at it," Shizune says, nodding at Itachi. "And I would like to come back with you guys again tomorrow. There were a lot of people I didn't get to see, and admittedly..." she spares a glance around the street, her eyebrows pulling together slowly before drawing black eyes back to Itachi's, "Admittedly, there is still a lot of people here that need our help. I've been telling people about the clinic we are going to be building so that when it's done and they need medical care, they can start coming to us."

"Good work, Lady Shizune," Itachi says, offering her a smile, that she returns.

"Then perhaps we should head home for the day," Kakashi says, unfolding his arms before looking at Itachi. "Unless there was something else you wanted to do while we were still here today?"

Itachi takes a moment to look down the street. The people there, downtrodden and broken, no different than when they arrived, but at least they were better off, if only slightly. Unfortunately, that's what they are going to have to do, improve the health and stability of this country one tiny step at a time. It didn't feel right leaving the people behind knowing that they were going to continue to suffer, but at this point, Itachi had nothing to offer them. He didn't have any homes, or space, or even hope. All he could offer them was a silent promise that he would do everything he could to help them. To improve their lives.

To build a strong country, one small village at a time.

"No," Itachi says, turning back to his comrades. "We're done for today, let's head back."

"How was it?" Tsunade asks that night as Mikoto prepares a meal using the meager food and supplies that Itachi and Fugaku were able to find in the next town while they were doing their own things. Itachi even scored a few stacks of paper in one of the shops that his mother was so happy to see - and honestly, so was he. A pot and a pan, as well as three plates for them to use and a pillow and two worn blankets.

Needless to say, they weren't doing awesome.

Well, Itachi had the yen to buy a lot of the stuff that they needed, but there wasn't a lot of people selling because people didn't have enough yen to buy the supplies, so needless to say, any well off trader would skip over this land if he could. That's another thing that has to change. Itachi can't just build this place with the money that exists in it - because the people are poor, only the overlords are powerful. They need to draw income from outside the land as well.

Itachi is feeling the overwhelming pressure once more, of all that has to be done.

"Fine," Itachi answers, once Fugaku and Shizune finished their reports. "I learned some troubling news today that we will have to address at some point."

"And that is?" Tsunade asks petting TonTon's back as the little pink pig curls up on her lap.

"The village we visited today is in a bad way economically, but their leader seems like he's going to be a problem sooner rather than later," Itachi says, picking at his meager meal, not really having the stomach to eat. At the ferocious growl from Naruto's stomach next to him, Itachi silently passed over his portion of the meal to the young boy who seemed happy to finish it off without a question asked and wolfed it down as fast as possible.

Mikoto, on the other hand, stared at him with dark, displeased eyes. Itachi shrugs his shoulders, knowing he's going to get an earful about that later, before turning his attention to the others in the room.

"I've been hearing from the people that he's forcing high taxes on them and taking those that cannot pay away from their families. Whether they are taken from the village itself or not, I don't know."

"That's worrisome," Shizune says, thin, dark eyebrows pulling together tightly.

"A tale told a thousand times by cruel men who lord over those that cannot defend themselves," Fugaku says, shaking his head. "Unfortunately, as terrible as it is, we aren't exactly in the best way to be offering any sort of help beyond peripherally."

Begrudgingly, the room agreed.

After a few moments of silence, Mikoto says, "You know what we could do? Orphaned children on the streets, we could bring them into the academy. That's a good way to get them out of that village. At least for the time being." She looks hopeful.

"But where would they go, Auntie?" Shisui asks softly, single dark eye filled with remorse and sadness, no doubt hating the words coming out of his mouth. "There isn't any extra home in the village for them to live, and we are cramped in here as it is. I would love to help everyone we can, but we just don't have the resources to do it."

"Yeah, and the guy that can help us create more space is being a pain about it," Kakashi adds, sighing.

They lapse into silence for a long time.

"I can share my space with someone..." Sakura says softly, looking around the room. "We're family. We... should share what we have with those that need it... shouldn't we?"

"Yes," Itachi says softly, locking his black eyes with her green ones. "But it would do us no good to stretch ourselves so thin that we can't help anyone by trying to help everyone without a plan. I agree. We can bring those children that have no more families into the village to train and to protect, but this village is barely able to sustain the people it has in it now."

Sakura wilts, looking down at her half-eaten plate of food that she and Sasuke were sharing. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be," Fugaku says, petting her hair down in a very fatherly manner. As much as Fugaku loved his boys, a small part of Itachi has come to suspect after all this time with all four of the kids that his father has secretly always wanted a daughter. He finds that fatherly outlet on Hinata and Sakura. He's far more delicate with them than Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto, but loves them all the same. "You have a good heart, Sakura." The pink-haired girl flushes at the praise.

"I'll go tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, until he agrees to help us," Itachi promises. "I will convince him to help us build our village." He looks around the room at his family, as they all stare back at him. "We'll go out again tomorrow to earn more yen, talk to Hiroshi, and snoop around for more intel on the situation in the nearby village."

Itachi turns his dark eyes toward the window, mentally planning out something in his head, trying to decide if it's going to be a waste or not. They have to make a move, a big move, to start the flow of money in this land. They have a few different options, but Itachi wants to go with the most impactful in the long run. They could hunt for a band of highwaymen, kill them and steal their riches, but Itachi's not sure he's ready to tip the balance of power yet. He still wants to lay low while the village is in the exact same position that it's always been in.

"We are going to split up tomorrow," Itachi decides, looking around the group, waiting for all their eyes to fall on him before he continues, "Father and Lady Tsunade will return to the village to continue helping the sick and getting more supplies for our village and our home. Kakashi and I will go to complete some missions and speak with Hiroshi." He waits for the three of them to nod before looking over at Shizune. "Lady Shizune, you and Shisui have a special mission."

Shizune stares back at him with wide eyes. "Alright, let's hear it."

"You'll head out to the border of the land to see if there is anyone - specifically merchants, but it could be anyone - in need of safe transport through the country itself. If they are merchants, and you can plan accordingly, get them to stop here on their way through. I want to bring more supplies into the country, and merchants talk. If we can keep them safe, and buy their products, more may be willing to pay for our services and bring us their goods."

Shizune and Shisui bob their heads in understanding.

"How long do you want us away?" Shisui asks, finishing up his meal and setting his plate to the side to clean later.

"Try and scrounge for about two weeks," Itachi says, furrowing his brow a bit in concern, knowing how hard that will be. "I'm hoping with how small this Land is, you should be able to get at least two escort missions done. I'm hoping. But I'll leave it up to you guys to decide. We can't choose to be picky at this point. I just want to expose us and our village just enough to bring the merchants into the land again."

"One or two escorts aren't going to solve the problem," Tsunade warns.

"No," Itachi agrees, "but it's a start."