Title: The Cost of Coming Home

Author: Mirianne

Summary: The battle between Sasuke and Itachi goes differently, and Sasuke chooses to bring them both back to Konoha. This is the events surrounding their return and the price they pay. Naruto/Itachi

Warnings: Contains references to torture and rape but nothing explicit.

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. This is written for fun.

AN: My timelines are a bit mixed up to accomodate events as I wanted them for the story to work.

Sasuke shifted the body in his arms enough to open the door and didn't bother to knock. The first thing he saw was an ANBU mask, carelessly discarded on the table just inside the door. The second thing was Naruto with a sword in his hand.

Sasuke ignored the sword and nodded to the mask. "That'll make this easier, I think. I assume being in ANBU means you know about Itachi?"

Naruto frowned. "Yeah, I know what really happened." He glanced at the person Sasuke was carrying, thinking he had a pretty good idea who it was based on Sasuke's question. "It also means I should be arresting your ass, Sasuke. You're a missing nin. Itachi's been on a mission. You don't have that excuse."

"I know," Sasuke snapped. "If you'll help Itachi, I have a bargain for you. A compromise, if you will. One that doesn't involve me getting executed or fighting my way out of Konoha. But help Itachi first."

"Fine. Put him on the couch and put your weapons aside while I summon some help. Why didn't you go to Sakura? She's the medic on our team, and you apparently didn't know I'm ANBU now." Naruto summoned a toad and sent it to Tsunade.

Slightly relieved, both that someone would come soon and that Naruto implied they were still on the same team, Sasuke obeyed. "This is not a bargain I'm willing to make with Sakura. I'm no medic, but I got him stable enough that he can wait for someone to come here. Besides, you're more willing to break the rules than she is. Like letting a missing nin or two into your apartment." As a gesture of good faith, Sasuke actually removed all his weapons, even the hidden ones. Besides, if Naruto was ANBU, he'd be able to do a thorough search. Which he did as soon as Sasuke finished.

"Take off your shirt and sit," Naruto ordered. "I may trust your word, but the Hokage won't, so I'm binding you and putting a chakra seal on you. You can talk while I work."

Sasuke grimaced, but he supposed the precautions made sense. If he wanted help for his brother, didn't want to fight his way back out of the village, he had to cooperate until he'd made his bargain.

Naruto grabbed a scroll and unsealed restraints, which he then used to bind Sasuke to the chair. He then reached for sealing supplies. "Hold still while I work, and leave your Sharingan inactive. You won't like what happens if it's forcibly deactivated by my seal."

"I trust this is temporary?"

"Yeah, yeah. Now talk. I want some answers before Tsunade gets here, if I'm going to have to keep you out of a cell tonight."

Scowling, Sasuke nevertheless knew he'd have to explain. "Itachi and I fought yesterday. He was-off, sick. He screwed up a genjutsu and told me what really happened by mistake. He intended for me to kill him without ever telling me the truth. Instead, I brought him here for healing. And when he wakes up, I have a few things to say to him." Sasuke was not pleased that Itachi had nearly succeeded in goading Sasuke into killing him without learning the truth. "I couldn't trust anyone else to heal him." And it gave him an excuse to come home, even if he'd pay a price.

"And this bargain?" Naruto finished the seal on Sasuke's chest. "I'm going to do another one around your eyes, just to be sure."

"Fine," Sasuke said. "My offer isn't that different than what you're doing now. I will cooperate with putting some variant of the caged bird seal on me. I'm sure you can come up with something. It means the village gets my skills without ignoring what I did."

Naruto could certainly see why Sasuke didn't want to make that offer to Sakura. She might have calmed down, but she was still attracted to Sasuke. Having that much power over him might be a temptation too strong for her to resist. It did seem like a workable solution. Sasuke was good. If the village could trust him, he'd be a real asset.

Then Tsunade burst through the door, and there was no more time for conversation. "What the hell is going on?" she demanded when she saw who was in the room.

"Injured ANBU first, missing nin later!" Naruto said. "Sasuke isn't going anywhere."

Tsunade frowned, but her eyes widened when she spotted Itachi lying unconscious on the couch. "Injured ANBU?" she asked, glancing sharply at Sasuke.

"He knows," Naruto said.

"Fine," she said and sat down beside the couch to work. She frowned at what she found but didn't say anything, pouring her abilities into healing the man who'd sacrificed so much for Konoha. The least she could do was heal him as well as she could. Even if his brother, who was a real traitor, was in the room. She trusted Naruto and had seen the seals, so she would trust that Sasuke could wait.

When she finished, she crooked her finger at Naruto and led him out of the room. "I expect a full explanation at some point, but that'll wait until morning. I'll come back then to hear it. For now, I want sake and bed. For now, Itachi is healing. He had an illness, which I've treated, along with his injuries. He is also nearly blind. That is not something I've treated, and I may not be able to."

Naruto didn't quite manage to pull off surprise.

"So you knew about that."

He shrugged. "He's good enough it doesn't much matter. You don't force a shinobi as good as Itachi to retire 'cause he's blind."

With that, Tsunade had to agree. "I'll be back in the morning for a real explanation. Make sure your friend the missing nin is still here."

Naruto didn't sleep, keeping an eye on both Uchihas. He was confident in his seals, but he also knew how good Sasuke was. He trusted Sasuke's word, but he would feel pretty foolish if he woke in the morning to find Sasuke had vanished overnight. Instead, he started working on a seal he could use if the Hokage accepted Sasuke's bargain until Itachi woke.

"Naruto?" Itachi asked. "Did you interfere again?"

"No, I kept my word," Naruto said. "You're in Konoha. Sasuke brought you, before you ask. He's here, too." He knew Itachi couldn't see Sasuke and might not sense him through the chakra seal, so Naruto wanted to make sure Itachi knew before he said anything too revealing. "Your plan is officially over, and I had nothing to do with ruining it. You and Sasuke managed that on your own."

"Fighting with me when you were so exhausted or sick you lost control of your genjutsu wasn't your best idea," Sasuke called over. He'd been listening, wondering how well his brother and his best friend knew each other. They were both ANBU, which might explain some degree of familiarity that wasn't explained by the hunter and prey relationship that was common knowledge, but that didn't necessarily explain why Naruto had promised not to interfere in Itachi's plans. Was it something all ANBU had promised? But what Itachi had said implied that Naruto had interfered before. Sasuke doubted either of them would be inclined to explain, so all he could do was continue to listen, but he wasn't just going to stay quiet. "You're the one who screwed up your own precious plan, big brother."

"Okay," Naruto snapped, "neither of you's in any shape to be fighting, so cool it." He didn't bother to ask Itachi how he was feeling, knowing he wouldn't get an honest answer. Instead, he helped Itachi sit up and moved the chair Sasuke was sitting in so they could all see each other, at least as well as Itachi could see. But Naruto couldn't ask about that when Sasuke was in the room. "I am not going to be the one to explain your plan to your brother, Bastard. It's your plan, you explain it." He grabbed the paper with his ideas for the seal.

Before Sasuke could start to explain or Itachi could start to question, Tsunade arrived. "I want to hear this plan, too," she snapped. She grabbed a chair and sat down. "Start talking," she ordered Sasuke.

"If I come back to Konoha under a ranking Shinobi or a clan, it bypasses trial procedures, even for treason," Sasuke said.

"And how do we trust you'll stay loyal this time?"

"The Dobe's a seals master. He's working on one, and I'll cooperate with putting it on me. It'll bind me to the person under whose protection I'm coming back to Konoha." He glanced at Itachi, who was frowning but didn't interrupt.

Tsunade also glanced at Itachi. "I am not sure Itachi would be the best choice," she said. "He has his own stigma to work through."

Sasuke laughed harshly. "Hokage, I will be honest. I am loyal to one person in Konoha. Only one. Itachi might become a second person, if we can get past our family history. Naruto's on the other end of that seal or no one."

Naruto winced. He'd suspected that was what Sasuke meant to do, but he wasn't sure it was the best idea. Especially not when he was sitting on the couch next to Sasuke's older brother. "I don't know-" he started but stopped in surprise when Itachi reached over and rested a too-thin hand on his wrist.

"This may be the wisest course," he said quietly, speaking directly to Naruto. "I can slip back into Konoha because I was never actually a traitor, and there is paperwork to prove I was on assignment. There will still be a great deal of trouble, of course, and it might be wiser for me to come back under someone's protection as well. However, I can come back without facing execution. Sasuke does not have that option. He is a traitor and would be tried as such. The council might let him off because of their desire for the Sharingan, but even that would likely end in some form of confinement. Prison or house arrest. It would drive him crazy and be a ridiculous waste of his talents."

Slowly, Naruto nodded.

"If that is the plan, do we bring him in under your ANBU identity or your own name?" Tsunade asked.

"Perhaps it is time to start to blend the two identities," Itachi suggested quietly. "Bring him in under the Namikaze name and send the paperwork through ANBU."

"That certainly makes the paperwork easier. But why Namikaze?" Tsunade asked. Somehow, she wasn't surprised Itachi knew that little secret, though she could see Sasuke was confused.

"Part of it is simply that it is a name that will afford a great deal of protection," Itachi admitted, carefully not looking at his brother. "At the same time, it allows you to use ANBU channels while eventually admitting that it is actually Naruto's protection. It seems the best of both worlds, a gradual blending of the two identities."

Tsunade frowned but nodded. "Fine. I'll need to commission the forehead protectors with appropriate symbols. Am I ordering one or two?"

"Two," Itachi said. "Although I do not wish to bear a seal."

"No reason you should," Naruto said. "ANBU'll vouch for you."

"Let's talk details," Tsunade said.

Naruto looked down at the paper he held. So far, he had the obvious torture or kill abilities designed, with the advantage that Sasuke wouldn't have to be anywhere near him to activate them. To that, he added the ability to control how far from him Sasuke could get. Again, it could be altered from a distance, so it could be used to summon Sasuke, no matter how far away he was.

"Great. Like a dog on a leash," Sasuke muttered.

"Don't tempt me to leave those chakra suppression seals on you, you bastard! They're blood-locked, so I guarantee no one else will get them off you."

"You said they're temporary!"

"They are. As long as I remove them."

Naruto smirked. Sasuke glared and started to do something that might have resulted in getting out of the restraints, at least, but Tsunade interrupted.

"All right. Speaking of chakra suppression, I am not sure I am comfortable having a notorious traitor wandering my village with full access to his chakra and bloodline abilities."

"Then add to the seal. Something where Naruto can allow or deny me access to my chakra and Sharingan at need," Sasuke snapped. "Why am I the one making the suggestions when I'm the one who'll be sealed?"

"Because it was your idea?" Naruto asked sweetly. He wasn't entirely sure why Sasuke was pushing the idea. Everything they'd said made sense, it was definitely a way for Sasuke to come back to the village, but it seemed to run counter to what Sasuke had wanted for as long as Naruto had known him. Had learning the truth about Itachi really changed him that much? Itachi seemed to know more about Sasuke's reasoning, which made sense; Naruto was one of the people who knew Itachi cared very much for his younger brother and had kept an eye on him. Naruto intended to get some answers from Itachi as soon as Sasuke wasn't listening. Not wanting to argue with Sasuke any further, Naruto asked, "Is there anything else I need to add to the seal?"

"No, that should be everything that is necessary," Tsunade said.

"Something that will notify you of his status, if he is injured, and a tracking element so that you can find him if he cannot come to you," Itachi said quietly. When neither Tsunade nor Sasuke were listening, he would quietly suggest that he and Naruto each have a tracking seal as well. All three of them were targets, and they needed to be able to find each other. Naruto was good enough with blood based and blood-locked seals that no one would be able to take advantage.

Naruto made a note and started drawing a network of seals, considering the best layout and placement.

"How long will it take you to design and place the seal?" Tsunade asked.

"I'll have the seal finished today and will place it tonight. Itachi can check my work before I place it."

Tsunade raised her eyebrows, remembering what her scans had told her about Itachi's eyesight. Then an idea occurred to her, and she smiled. "You know, I seem to remember that neither of you have passed the chuunin exams, Naruto. There's another one held here in the village in two weeks. Perhaps I will enter you."

Naruto snorted. "Sasuke and I are both well beyond chuunin level, and you know it. Hell, I'm an ANBU captain. Sasuke was trained by Orochimaru."

"Yes, but if this plan is to work, with you gradually revealing your identity as a Namikaze, it might be wise for you to get the official qualifications."

Sasuke made a mental note to ask about how Naruto was a Namikaze when the Hokage was gone. He knew he'd be more likely to get an answer when she was gone. She did not like him.

"And if Itachi is coming back under a different symbol, it might be wise for him to re-qualify," Tsunade continued idly. "That would give you the requisite team."

"Granny, if putting Sasuke and me through chuunin exams is silly, putting Itachi through them is ridiculous. He's not only a known ANBU captain, he's actually passed his chuunin exam years ago."

Tsunade frowned and realized Naruto hadn't caught on to what she was thinking. A glance at Itachi made her think he had, but his expression was hard to read. She glanced at Sasuke and didn't want him hearing the rest of the conversation, so she flicked some healing chakra at him. "Sleep," she ordered. When he was out, she turned back to the two men on the couch and addressed Itachi directly. "I am the one who treated you. Your injuries are well on their way to being healed. Your illness is also cured, and I healed the damage it had done to your body. You should notice your stamina and chakra increase, now that you're no longer fighting the illness.

"I am aware of how poorly you can see. I did a little research last night, and I may be able to stabilize your eyes so they do not continue to deteriorate. I will need to do more research and observation, and there is no guarantee. I doubt there is anything that can be done to repair your vision."

Itachi nodded. "If you can keep me from going completely blind while still letting me use the Mangekyo Sharingan, it is more than I expected or believed to be possible." He was not going to take his brother's eyes just to save his own vision. He'd rather go blind, though he had intended to die before he lost his sight completely.

"I might be able to do something too, with seals. I've been thinking about it," Naruto admitted.

"My thanks. Regardless, I can still fight, even without perfect vision. Even blind, if necessary. That is what you wish to test by putting me through an exam, correct?" Itachi asked Tsunade.

"Oh," Naruto muttered. He really should have figured that out. He knew Itachi could fight fine, had sparred with him when he was wearing a blindfold once when Itachi slipped away from Akatsuki to report and Naruto had been his contact. But Tsunade had never seen that. "You realize it's completely unfair to every other team in the exam. Two ANBU captains and Orochimaru's apprentice."

Tsunade smiled. "I will make sure you and Itachi do not fight until the final. I look forward to seeing who wins when you two fight on equal ground."

"It could go either way," Itachi said. "Naruto is one of the few people who can fight my Mangekyo abilities."

"It takes using Kyuubi to do it, though," Naruto said. "I throw raw power at you, not skill. It might be wiser for neither of us to use our full abilities for an exam. And not just because of the sheer amount of collateral damage."

"Many of my abilities are known, but it might be wiser to keep some of yours and what of mine remain secret hidden," Itachi agreed. Having many of his skills generally known was one of the prices of living as a missing nin for years; any ability he demonstrated in a fight his opponent or an observer survived ended up in a bingo book. It was therefore general knowledge within a month of the book's publication. "Something to consider in the next two weeks."

"So we're really going to take this exam?" Naruto asked.

"It sounds like a nice way to be reintroduced to the village. Sasuke and I can stay hidden until the exam starts."

Naruto laughed, looking forward to the reactions. Despite how ridiculous the whole situation was, he was starting to think it would be fun.

"I don't want to be here when that brat wakes up," Tsunade said. "Itachi, I want to do a quick check on you."

With Sasuke out, Itachi didn't argue.

"Good. You heal easily. That's surprising, for someone with a chronic illness that hadn't been treated."

Itachi smiled. "I am a genjutsu master. That requires good chakra control."

"So you're helping me." Tsunade nodded. She should have guessed, but he had a deft hand at it. "All right. Keep you and your brother out of sight, for the moment. I don't mind if you vanish into ANBU, but keep Sasuke out for the moment, even once he's sealed."

Both ANBU nodded, and Naruto saw Tsunade out of his apartment. When she was gone, he activated seals that locked the apartment down. No one was getting in or out, and no one would see or hear anything that happened inside. As soon as that was done, he took the chains off Sasuke. He wanted it done before Sasuke woke up and decided to do it himself. He made no move to remove the chakra seals.

"This exam is probably going to be a laugh," Naruto told Itachi. "The first task is a walk."

"Why?"

"It's a scavenger hunt all over town to gather pieces of information. I happen to know all that information, and you'd have just as easy access."

"Ah. ANBU access. They're organizing the first task?"

"We are helping. And since we don't have to do the ridiculous scavenger hunt, we can probably get the proctor to go ahead and mark us down as having completed it while we hide behind masks and help out. It'd be great if we can keep our names out until the tournament part. The other villages are going to go out of their minds when they realize Konoha is entering a team with two S-class missing nin, a jinchuuriki, and one or two ANBU captains, depending on how much intelligence they have about our ANBU."

Itachi smiled. "We're doing it by the rules. Sneaking overqualified contestants in is a longstanding tradition. Some villages don't even bother with the technicalities."

Sasuke jerked and woke, jumping to his feet and wincing when he tried and failed to activate his Sharingan.

"You're safe," Naruto said.

Remembering the events before Tsunade had put him to sleep, Sasuke slowly sank back into the chair, looking at Naruto and Itachi. "No more chains?"

"The Hokage's gone. The apartment's sealed. I trust you. Don't go picking fights with Itachi, please."

"What about with you?"

"I am busy." He went back to work on the seal. "I can talk while I work, but I can't get too wrapped up in conversation or a fight."

"Fine. What was so important about this exam or Itachi's participation that I wasn't allowed to know?"

"Ask Itachi," Naruto said. They had to start talking at some point. Sasuke might have let go of his hatred and obsessive need for vengeance, but Naruto suspected it would be a while before the brothers were comfortable with each other.

"Fine. Itachi?"

Itachi considered his brother carefully for a long moment. It wasn't something he'd intended to tell Sasuke, as it would have led to questions he didn't want to answer, but that didn't matter as much when they were both back in the village with Sasuke already knowing the truth of the massacre. "I am going blind," he said. "The Mangekyo Sharingan is destroying my sight. I am good enough and have trained enough to compensate, but the Hokage wishes to see me fight in a controlled environment to be sure before she starts assigning me to missions."

Sasuke's eyes widened. Up until Itachi had seemed to get dizzy and had messed up the genjutsu, Sasuke had been losing their fight. And Itachi had been fighting nearly blind? Or did having his Sharingan active repair his vision?

"All of us know it's not a problem," Naruto said. "We just prove that in the exam. Wonder who she'll draft as jounin for us." He glanced at Itachi. "Or should you and I pick someone?" Someone meaning ANBU.

"Wait and see what the Hokage comes up with," Itachi advised. "I'm going to see what you have in your kitchen besides ramen this time."

"This time?" Sasuke muttered. "How well do you and my brother know each other?" he asked Naruto when Itachi was out of the room.

Naruto grinned. "Ask Itachi."

Sasuke shook his head. He had no intention of asking Itachi that. For one thing, he wasn't sure he'd get a more useful answer. Itachi was too damn gifted a liar.

The day passed gradually while Naruto worked on the seal and Itachi and Sasuke danced around each other. Itachi eventually went back to sleep, still recovering. He woke in the late afternoon in time to check Naruto's work and make a few suggestions. Sasuke watched the process with a disgruntled expression, having little knowledge of seals. He had to trust them to do it right, which wasn't easy after his years as Orochimaru's apprentice. Being in a confined space with two people who were both probably more dangerous than he was without his chakra or ready access to weapons was not helping, but Sasuke gritted his teeth and fought down his instincts. Naruto wasn't Orochimaru and wouldn't do him real harm. Itachi had really hurt him on more than one occasion, but Sasuke knew why now.

When Itachi and Naruto were both satisfied with the seal, Naruto turned to Sasuke. "I have to undo the chakra suppression seals before I do this permanent seal. Otherwise, there's a chance the two networks would blend, and the chakra suppression would become permanent."

"Fine. I'm not going to do anything. Besides, Itachi's watching your back." He was absolutely sure of that. More sure when neither of them contradicted him.

"You realize this is going to be on your face and therefore very visible."

Sasuke hadn't, entirely, but he shrugged. It made sense. "I'm a traitor. Having a visible seal might actually improve my reputation. As long as an opponent can't take advantage, I don't care."

"If they try it, I suggest you let them. I do great anti-tampering work." Naruto smiled like he was contemplating a particularly vicious prank. "Maybe you should coax an opponent into doing that during the exam. Easy victory for you and a warning for your enemies. Or save it for a surprise." He got to work. Itachi watched both of them with his Sharingan. It didn't repair his vision, but it did help. And they needed Sasuke to be able to handle seeing Itachi with Sharingan or even Mangekyo Sharingan eyes before the exam started.

The process took hours. It wasn't as complicated as some seals, but it was no where near as simple as the chakra suppression seals Naruto had used before. Also, since it was permanent, he had to be even more careful to get every detail exactly right. Finally, it was done and active. He and Itachi left Sasuke to sleep off the reaction on the couch and shared the bed.

Itachi and Naruto slept until nearly noon the next day, and Sasuke was still out when they woke. Itachi once again took over the kitchen, murmuring something about doing a little shopping at some point, while Naruto checked Sasuke and woke him in time to eat.

"How do you feel?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Fine." He activated his Sharingan, channeled chakra, and shrugged. "I can feel how far I can get from you. Given you've sealed the apartment, I'm surprised you've set such a large range."

"Itachi and I are going out once we've eaten, and I want you to stay here. Tsunade wants to do some work on Itachi, and I have a couple of errands to run while getting us out of the first task of the Chuunin Exams."

"Getting us out of it?" Sasuke asked, following Naruto into the kitchen and sitting down to eat.

Naruto repeated the explanation, and Sasuke laughed. "I look forward to how people will react when Itachi and I are revealed before the tournament. Do you think you can talk the Hokage out of preliminary rounds?"

Naruto smiled. "I think it won't be a problem. There are a few big names in the exams, and she can hint that there are some surprise participants to draw the crowds without naming names. If we agree to cull the teams some during the second stage, we shouldn't need preliminaries, even if that means a larger pool for the tournament."

None of them doubted that they were good enough to complete the task and cull out the weaker teams. "Is it the Forest of Death again?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes. Again, we have an advantage. Itachi and I have been in there a lot, and we have maps. And access to the hidden ways. There aren't rules against using them, since they don't expect ANBU to be in the exams. Easy enough."

They finished eating, making idle plans. Itachi would suggest their thoughts on keeping hidden until the tournament while he met with the Hokage, without mentioning their plans to take advantage of ANBU access to ease their way. No sense in giving her ideas to make their plans against the rules. The ANBU proctors wouldn't care.

Itachi and Naruto, both dressed in full ANBU garb complete with masks, stood in front of the door. Sasuke studied them and suppressed a small shiver, well aware that, if not for the seal he now wore on his face, they should be hauling him to Torture and Interrogation. Brother and best friend or not. He didn't think either of them was a hunter nin except for particularly dangerous hunts, though. Infiltration, obviously given what Itachi had been doing. Naruto, with a couple of his jutsu, would also have a talent for that. Assassination, for the same reasons. And straight combat. They were both powerful and deadly and could easily lead a squad of heavy hitters. "See about finding us a place to practice, if we're supposed to stay out of sight," he said.

"That's one of the things I'm doing," Naruto agreed. "You'll stay here?"

"Yes. Reactions at the exam sound like too much fun to risk getting caught early." When they were gone, he walked into the bathroom and stared into the mirror, studying the black and red seal that covered his left cheek. Naruto had been right; it was very visible and obviously a seal rather than a simple tattoo. He forced himself to accept it and sat down to study a jutsu scroll while he waited for his new team to return.

Naruto escorted Itachi to the Hokage tower. Even with a mask, he couldn't afford to activate his Sharingan, since no Uchihas were supposed to be in the village. Ironically, his failing vision gave him more trouble in crowds of civilians than on the battlefield. Fortunately, people tended to get out of the way for ANBU.

At the Tower, Shizune ushered them into Tsunade's office, and they waited for Tsunade to seal it before removing their masks. When the pleasantries were out of the way, Naruto said, "I'm mostly here to drop Itachi off, but I did want to discuss the jounin sensei issue with you. If you haven't decided on someone already, you might want to consider Nara Shikaku or Hyuuga Hiashi. They're both busy, but they wouldn't actually have to do much. They are both aware of my secrets and Itachi's already and will need to know about Sasuke soon, and their clans are the two biggest threats for figuring out who we are and letting the secret out without realizing it should be secret."

Tsunade nodded. "I had been thinking to ask Kakashi, as he taught you and-Sasuke, but that is a good point. I will consider it."

Naruto nodded. "Thanks." He turned to Itachi. "Take advantage of ANBU privileges and have a genin team do the shopping. They can bring things back here, and we can grab everything and seal it on the way home."

Itachi smiled slightly. "All right."

Naruto glanced at the Hokage then met Itachi's eyes, cocking his head slightly in silent question. Itachi's smile widened a little, and he nodded. Naruto gave Itachi a quick kiss before replacing his mask and vanishing out the window, having no trouble bypassing the seals, and leaving Tsunade to stare in astonishment.

"I did not expect that. Does your brother know?"

"Not yet. I'm sure he'll find out soon enough."

"You are four and a half years older than Naruto, Itachi. I trust you are not taking advantage of him?"

Itachi smiled. "No. I think anyone who tried would regret it quite quickly. Besides, I am coming home under his protection and therefore under his command. That ought to give you some reassurance."

Tsunade nodded, conceding the point, and they started to discuss the exams before doing some tests on his eyes.

At the same time, Naruto had headed to ANBU headquarters to find Anko and Ibiki, who were the first two proctors again. They were in Ibiki's office, so he removed his mask and leaned in the doorway, waiting for them to acknowledge him.

"I was wondering if you'd be willing to go ahead and mark my team as having completed the first task," he said when they turned to him. "My partner and I will help out with crowd control in return, as we want to keep our team in the shadows until the tournament."

"You are taking the chuunin exams?" Anko asked and snorted. "That's priceless."

"Partner," Ibiki said slowly, studying Naruto carefully. Then he smirked, a disturbing expression with his scars. "He's back."

"What? He's finally back? How'd you manage that?" Anko demanded immediately.

"I didn't. But his little plan is finally over for good, with no one dead, and he can't even blame me for interfering. He let the truth out himself, so it's his own damn fault."

"Then he came back on his own?"

"No, better. Sasuke brought him. Straight to my door."

Ibiki tensed. "Is he still here?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. He made a bargain with Tsunade. He's got a seal on him, so he won't be betraying us again."

Ibiki relaxed. He wouldn't be liking, trusting, or forgiving the younger Uchiha any time soon, but Naruto's seals were good.

"He's coming back under Namikaze protection. So is Itachi, for that matter. Sasuke is also the third member of our team for the exams. The paperwork on both should be down here shortly. Tsunade's filing their return through ANBU channels rather than the council."

"That's because we're more sensible when it comes to paperwork," Ibiki said.

"Wait," Anko interrupted. "If Sasuke's third and you offered you and your partner to help out. . . The Hokage put Uchiha Itachi in a chuunin exam?" She burst out laughing and couldn't stop for several minutes while Naruto smirked.

"Well, we know Konoha's winning the tournament this year, unless it ends in another invasion," Ibiki said.

Naruto smiled. "Hokage promised she'll make sure Itachi and I don't face each other until the final fight, assuming we win all our other fights. And even Sasuke can't defeat either of us. Not at this point. So one of us is winning, unless something very unexpected happens or some other village slips in a team with S-class nin. Even then, there aren't many people I'd bet on against Itachi."

"You, maybe," Anko said and grinned. "Well, get out of here. Tell little Itachi welcome back, and our ceasefire is officially over!"

Naruto laughed and left, hearing Ibiki mutter, "How the two of you got an Uchiha, even that Uchiha, involved in pranks, I will never understand," as he walked away. Anko's cackling echoed, making several people look around nervously.

Next, Naruto made arrangements to use his family's training grounds for the next couple of months without getting caught, setting up seals linked to him and updating the seals his parents had set while they'd been alive. With that accomplished, he returned to the Hokage Tower for Itachi.

"There's not much she can do," Itachi told Naruto quietly when they stood on a roof. "If I saw her after every time I used the Mangekyo, she could probably slow the rate of deterioration significantly, but that isn't practical."

"Well, my seal may be a better option. You know I heal almost anything because of the fox. You also know Tsunade has a chakra containing seal that holds that genjutsu she wears and helps to heal her. I may be able to use a similar seal to infuse your eyes with a bit of the fox's chakra, which would heal them as you damage them. It would not heal them past the point they're at now, though. You'd still be nearly blind. It would also mean a bond between us."

Itachi shrugged. "We are partners and involved emotionally. I do not mind a more substantial tie, now that I am no longer planning to die. What would be the side effects?"

Naruto sighed. "I don't have it completely worked out yet. We would probably need to stay in the same general area, but it would be a fairly large area. Larger than the village."

"So more distance than Sasuke's going to get."

"Yeah, but Sasuke's a traitor. You aren't. Still, it's not the same sort of restriction. Sasuke physically can't go beyond whatever distance I allow him. With the seal I'm thinking of, if we got too far apart and you used whatever chakra was stored in the seal up but still needed your Mangekyo, your eyes would just deteriorate again. I could probably build in the same sort of status awareness that is in Sasuke's, so I'd know if you needed to use the Mangekyo that much when away from me. Then I would know to come to you, unless I was in the middle of my own mess."

"Which reminds me. I want a tracking seal and a status seal on you, so I can come to you if you're in trouble. And I will not be able to apply it without assistance. It is not a seal I can do by rote or one where small errors wouldn't matter. My sight is no longer good enough for delicate seal work."

Though Itachi kept his tone calm and matter-of-fact, Naruto still winced.

"Stop that. I have had eight years to get used to going blind."

"Yeah, but you also expected to die before it became a real problem."

Itachi's eyes widened behind his mask as he realized. Naruto thought his deteriorating vision was part of the reason he had intended to die at Sasuke's hand. "That isn't why. If I go completely blind, I go completely blind. I can fight without my Sharingan, especially since Tsunade cured my illness. I just wanted it over before that because it would have made Sasuke ask me questions I didn't want to answer. I worry about my brother and wanted to give him a reason to get as strong as possible, and I also felt-feel I deserve to die at his hands for what I've done. Now, though, he seems determined that I live, so I will accept that sentence as I would have accepted the other. It is Sasuke's choice."

Slowly, Naruto nodded. That made sense. Itachi had tried to manipulate Sasuke into making the choice Itachi thought was more appropriate, but he was willing to accept whatever price Sasuke wanted him to pay. "What happened to him?" Naruto asked. "I know you know. You've always kept a closer eye on him than he realizes."

Itachi sighed. "Not out in the open."

"ANBU, then."

Reluctantly, Itachi nodded. Naruto needed to know, at least the basics. More than that, he had the right to know now, when he was essentially Sasuke's clan head. And Itachi wouldn't put Sasuke through having to tell Naruto himself.

Naruto was beginning to get a very bad feeling about what Itachi would tell him, but he needed to keep that out of both their thoughts until they were inside a private room in ANBU, preferably a training room with things to destroy. So he shook the thoughts out of his head and said, "Before we discuss unpleasant things, I have a message to pass on. Anko and Ibiki welcome you home, and Anko says the ceasefire's over."

Managing a strangled laugh, Itachi shook his head. "She would. Kindly do me the favor of not telling her I'm nearly blind. She would take ridiculous advantage whenever possible. And if we're starting the old war up again, I'll be relying on you to be my eyes. Especially, I'll be counting on you to tell me if I miss something she hits me with because it only had a visual effect."

"Obviously," Naruto agreed. "And I can think of a few ways to take advantage of your poor vision ourselves."

Itachi raised his eyebrows but didn't comment as they shut themselves into a small training court and activated the seals before removing their masks. "As pleasant a distraction as ongoing war with Anko is, that isn't why we're here, and Sasuke will be getting impatient for us to return."

"Something bad happened to him," Naruto said. "Something bad enough to break his pride to the point where he's willing to come back under a seal he knows Neji called a sentence to slavery. More than that, he's willing to grant me power over him. I'd barely gotten him to acknowledge me as an equal." Naruto shook his head. "I didn't expect anything that bad to have happened to him, knowing you were keeping an eye on him. Every well-connected missing nin knows he's under your protection. They may speculate why, if it's because you care for him or because you want to kill him yourself, but they don't question your resolve. The only reason Orochimaru got away with what he did was because Sasuke went to him willingly."

Itachi nodded. They'd discussed that before. "Orochimaru would have to get very lucky to defeat me in a fair fight. I am not saying it is impossible, but it is unlikely. However, he had Oto behind him to keep me out of his business. After a year and a half, I trusted I knew what was happening and relaxed my surveillance a bit. Apparently, as soon as Orochimaru was sure I wouldn't find out, he started to take advantage of Sasuke. He would give my brother two impossible choices and force Sasuke to choose what form of torture he would endure. It broke him a little. I did not learn what had happened until we fought, when I slipped into his mind and saw it play out through his memories."

"That's when you screwed up your genjutsu, when he found out what happened with the massacre. I thought you being sick wasn't a good enough explanation."

Grimacing, Itachi had to agree.

"I should have kept a closer eye on him," Naruto said quietly, absorbing what Itachi had told him. "I should have gotten him out."

"I feel much the same," Itachi admitted. "And in the end, we both have to accept that Sasuke made his own choices. Just as we have to accept his choice to come back to Konoha and accept that seal."

Naruto knew Itachi was right. Sasuke would not thank either of them for their guilt. He chose to destroy a few things before they left ANBU headquarters, but tempted as they both were, they didn't take the time to spar. Neither mentioned the conversation to Sasuke when they got back to Naruto's apartment. By silent conspiracy, the topic was banned until after the exams, no matter how easy they expected the tests to be.

Two days later, both Itachi and Naruto bore small seals. Itachi's was also on his face, at the corner of his left eye, but it was very small and looked more like a violet scar than a seal. Naruto's, equally small, was on the same shoulder as his ANBU tattoo. The results were surprising; they were now constantly aware of where the other was and how the other felt, both emotionally and physically. Itachi found his chakra stores, which hadn't been small to begin with, growing. He worked hard to keep his good control, which surprisingly seemed to benefit Naruto as well. Distance didn't seem to have an effect. Another surprising effect was that the bond they'd inadvertently created allowed Itachi to track and control Sasuke's seal as long as Naruto didn't consciously block him.

Tsunade dropped off the new forehead protectors at the apartment on the third day. Sasuke took his and put it on immediately. Itachi was slower, holding onto his own scored forehead protector as he studied the new one.

"You can still change your mind," Naruto pointed out. "There is no reason you have to come back under Namikaze protection."

Itachi glanced at Sasuke and picked up the forehead protector with the Namikaze flames on it.

"Don't do it for me, big brother," Sasuke said. "You've done plenty for me over the past few years."

Shaking his head, Itachi put on the new forehead protector, though he tied the old one over his arm rather than putting it aside. "It is simpler. I would rather deal with the council as little as possible." He didn't explain further, but he didn't have to; they both knew Itachi's history with the elders, who had been involved in ordering him to massacre his family.

When the teams arrived, they watched the briefing for the first task from under genjutsu and hooded cloaks as well as the shadows, then got quite a bit of amusement out of watching the teams racing around Konoha to complete the hunt. When Sasuke saw Sakura with Ino and Chouji, he laughed a little. "You realize she's going to try to kill us when she finds out we're participating as well."

Naruto smiled. "Very likely. It should be funny."

Raising his eyebrows, Sasuke asked, "Don't you care? Or have you stopped chasing her?" He frowned when both Itachi and Naruto laughed. What was he missing? There was something between those two, something he still didn't understand, though he'd been watching them for two weeks now. They worked together easily, seemed able to read each other's minds. Some of that could be explained by ANBU training but not all of it. They had also continued to share Naruto's bed, to Sasuke's surprise. He would have expected Naruto to make the brothers share the bed while he took the couch. If he was worried about them fighting, Sasuke would have thought Naruto would prefer to share with Sasuke rather than Itachi. For a while, he'd thought it might be because Naruto still didn't trust him, but he'd seen no evidence for that. It meant that Naruto simply preferred to share with Itachi.

Suddenly, things clicked into place. "You two? Naruto, you're dating my brother?" he demanded. "Since when?"

Naruto didn't answer, too busy laughing. Finally, he said, "It took you a while to figure that out. I realize we weren't making it obvious, but we weren't exactly hiding it."

Sasuke blushed. "I always thought Itachi was pretty much asexual," he muttered.

Itachi simply smiled. "Our family would not have been happy to learn that I am uninterested in girls. They'd have tolerated dallying with other males, but I was the heir and expected to have children."

Neither of them had any intention of answering any questions about how long they'd been involved or how long they'd even known each other. Instead, they wandered off to go help the ANBU with running the task. Itachi and Naruto had their masks. Sasuke had no mask, so they positioned him where he could stay out of sight in case someone got the bright idea of canceling a genjutsu. If that happened, his hood might not be enough to protect his identity.

The teams that completed the first part of the exam, including Naruto's team, headed for the Forest of Death under Anko's eyes. There was a slight variation in the format of the exam in that they not only had to steal a scroll from an opponent's team, they had to find a third scroll from where it was hidden in the forest or fight a team that had already found the third variety of scroll.

Following plans they'd decided on well in advance, they headed directly to the tower and laid out ambush plans and traps. They would decide who passed the second task, callously manipulating events to suit their own ends, and would get their scrolls from the teams they declined to let pass. Those teams they had selected would get through without ever seeing them.

"I wonder if we ought to feel guilty that we're basically deciding who will and won't have a chance at Chuunin arbitrarily," Naruto murmured as they watched Sakura, Ino, and Chouji walk into the tower. "I don't, particularly, since the teams we're eliminating simply aren't ready, but I wonder if I should."

"Why?" Sasuke asked bluntly. "Like you said, they aren't ready. We aren't even the ones eliminating most of them. Between us, we certainly have the experience to judge who is ready to advance. We know the reality of ninja life." They knew better than anyone else in the exam, the three of them. But then, they weren't exactly genin, for all that it was their official rank.

On the fifth day, they wandered into the tower when they were sure no one else would make it by the deadline. They'd let three teams through including Sakura's. They made the fourth, leaving twelve people for the final tournament. It was a good number, not too many.

Of course, most of the contestants probably assumed there were only nine people participating in the final tournament, as Naruto's team once again stayed in the shadows and made sure anyone who noticed them, and few did, simply assumed they were helping proctor the exam.

Unlike Naruto's first attempt at the exams, the opponents would not be announced until the day of the tournament. People would be expected to research all possible opponents, if they wanted to know what they would be fighting. Again, this gave Naruto's team the advantage; no one knew about them, and certainly no one knew who they were.

During the month between tasks, they trained in a private training ground, since Sasuke still wasn't permitted in ANBU areas, even with both Naruto and Itachi to supervise him. That would have to change at some point, if Tsunade didn't want to lose both Itachi and Naruto from ANBU. Sasuke had to be teamed with Naruto, he would never be able to take solo missions or work with others. Itachi had more freedom but would still mostly be restricted to missions with Naruto. That meant all three of them did ANBU missions or none of them did. Naruto and Itachi had talked about methods they could suggest to make Tsunade trust Sasuke enough for them to take missions, but all that could wait until after the exams were over.

"I don't understand how you ended up in ANBU," Sasuke told Naruto at one point while they sat and watched Itachi run drills with his sword and a blindfold. "You were always against killing."

Naruto sighed. "I grew up, Sasuke. And to some extent, that was a mask. My skills are ideal for ANBU. I've probably killed more people than you have."

Sasuke shook his head but couldn't argue. What he'd seen since he returned to Konoha supported what Naruto said. Naruto was still light-hearted and optimistic, but there was also a cold efficiency that Sasuke hadn't seen or had ignored before he'd run to Orochimaru.

Itachi knew this was a subject Naruto didn't want to talk about, so he finished his drill and removed his blindfold. "Let's go do some surveillance on the other teams," he suggested. Just because all three of them were good enough not to worry about their opponents was no reason to get complacent and walk into the finals blind.

Two weeks through the month, Shikamaru showed up at Naruto's door. "I assume you're on the team my father is leading without leading," he said, leaning against the wall. "And I assume Sasuke has returned to take the second place. Who's the third?"

"You're too smart for your own good," Naruto said. "I'm not having this conversation in the hall." Itachi and Sasuke were both inside, but they could stay hidden. Or not; Naruto wasn't going to make their decisions for them, even if their coming back under his protection meant he had the right.

"Shikamaru," Sasuke said when they walked into the living room.

Shikamaru studied Sasuke carefully, noting the seal on his face and the symbol on the forehead protector he wore. He knew that symbol, knew it meant Namikaze, and he also knew exactly how many people Sasuke trusted in Konoha. "So you're the Fourth's son."

Naruto folded his arms, waiting to see what else Shikamaru would figure out. Fortunately, he'd already explained his heritage to Sasuke.

Continuing to study Sasuke, Shikamaru frowned. He now knew how Sasuke was able to be back in Konoha without facing execution, guessed he knew what that seal on Sasuke's face meant. That left Shikamaru to figure out why Sasuke was back. He was too calm to have been forced into returning and accepting whatever form of loyalty seal he bore so obviously on his face. Shikamaru was surprised that Sasuke would willingly bear a visible seal, but he made no move to hide it. Obviously, Sasuke was here willingly, probably sealed willingly. That didn't make sense.

All of the elemental nations knew what Sasuke's one major life goal was. For him to be calm and back in Konoha, that goal had to be resolved. Which meant Itachi ought to be dead, but Shikamaru found that hard to believe. Sasuke was not a match for his older brother, no matter what Orochimaru had taught him. Besides, Shikamaru had always thought there was something off about the massacre. So if Sasuke was here and Itachi wasn't dead. . .

"There are going to be some very unhappy genin teams when your team is revealed," Shikamaru said. "Troublesome. Is he here? The whole village would know if someone was staying in the Uchiha district."

"Too smart," Naruto muttered as Itachi walked out of the bedroom.

Seeing the forehead protector Itachi wore that matched Sasuke's, the last piece fell into place for Shikamaru. Itachi had to re-qualify officially because he was coming back under another symbol, essentially coming back as a different ninja. Of course, Shikamaru seriously doubted Itachi would have to work his way back into ANBU; they'd take him back in a second, if he'd ever been listed as absent at all. "Well, this explains why my dad's involved."

"Your clan was one of two threats to revealing who we were before we were ready," Itachi said easily. "Obviously, we don't need a jounin sensei for anything but technicalities, so it was an easy way to lessen the threat."

"Are you going to tell anyone?" Naruto asked.

"Getting shrieked at would be much too troublesome. I do think I will come to the finals and observe their reactions, though."

Naruto nodded. "Thanks, Shikamaru."

Leaning forward, Shikamaru tapped Naruto's shoulder over his ANBU tattoo, even though it was covered by his sleeve. "Be sure that's hidden, just in case someone manages to get a hit on you that would reveal it. One of these two, probably. I can't imagine anyone else in this tournament managing to get past your defenses." He turned to Itachi. "You might want yours showing. Everyone knows you have one, and it might be wise to remind the village, a show of loyalty."

"I will consider it," Itachi said simply. He'd intended to keep the tattoo hidden, just like Naruto, and wasn't sure he wanted to display it. Even when everyone knew he had it, he wasn't that comfortable revealing it. He was used to secrets and lies. After the last ten years, he would probably always be more comfortable in the shadows. Even the plan of revealing his face to the village in the tournament, while both entertaining and necessary, set him on edge. It was a weakness that had gotten worse as his eyesight deteriorated. Fortunately, Naruto knew about it and would be there to help. It was another reason he'd wanted to come back under Naruto's protection. Naruto understood the value of secrets, too.

Promising to see them on the day of the tournament, Shikamaru left.

"I hate to disagree with Shikamaru," Naruto said when the apartment was sealed again, "but I think going into the exam with your ANBU tattoo on display is a little too blatant. There's no need to rub the other countries' noses in the fact that we've entered an ANBU. If, on the other hand, some nice opponent happens to slash your sleeve, it would just be part of the fight."

Sasuke snorted. "And that's not going to come off as contrived?"

"What they can't prove can't hurt us," Naruto said, laughing.

Sasuke was surprised to see Itachi was also smiling. "What's so amusing?" he demanded, scowling at Itachi. "I knew that was Naruto's attitude from his pranks, but that doesn't explain you."

Naruto laughed harder while Sasuke glared at both of them. Finally, Itachi shook his head. "We're currently engaged in war with Mitarashi Anko. It's a war that predates the massacre. In other words, little brother, I share Naruto's attitude about proof."

Sasuke couldn't control his expression and stared at his brother in slack-jawed shock.

"Come now, little brother. I was thirteen and an ANBU captain. I needed a way to relax, and I certainly wasn't going to find that relaxation at home."

Slowly, Sasuke nodded. Looking back at his memories, memories he'd avoided even after finding out the truth about Itachi, he could see the pressure their father had put on Itachi. "How the hell did you two meet? And know each other well enough to work together to prank someone?"

Abruptly, Naruto sobered. Apparently, they weren't going to be able to put this conversation off until after the exam. "You know what I am, right?"

"A jinchuuriki," Sasuke said. "Orochimaru told me. What does that have to do with anything?"

"It meant I was considered both valuable and dangerous. So they set people to watch and guard me. Itachi was one of those people, the only one close to my age. I eventually convinced him he didn't have to stay in the shadows to do his job, or at least that I could hide with him, and we got to be friends."

"So you knew the truth about the massacre from the start?"

Naruto hesitated and looked at Itachi for help.

"He knew," Itachi said quietly. "Before you get angry, he couldn't tell you. I made sure of that. He wasn't happy about it, especially after you went to Orochimaru. So if you're going to be angry, be angry with me."

"I've had enough of hating you," Sasuke said. "I'm not happy, but it's over now." And when he saw relief on both their faces, he knew he meant it. He was tired of hatred and anger and revenge. For the moment, he just wanted to focus on rebuilding his relationships with his best friend and his brother.

And by the time the day of the tournament arrived, he'd made a very good start. All three of them were comfortable with each other; they made an effective team. Naruto and Itachi traded off who led them; Itachi preferred not to but knew there would be situations where it was unavoidable, so they practiced both.

They got to the stadium very early with carefully constructed genjutsu and hoods to hide them but without masks. Both Sasuke and Itachi wore their new forehead protectors, though Itachi continued to wear the scored one he'd had as a missing nin on his arm. Sasuke had argued with him about that, saying that if either of them deserved to continue being marked by the symbol of a missing nin, it was him, but Itachi hadn't backed down. He would not try to hide or ignore what he'd done for the last eight years; that would be like putting weapons in his enemies' hands.

Shikamaru arrived before any of the other teams and greeted them without using names. He was cool to Sasuke, unable to forget the damage Sasuke had done when he turned traitor, but he wasn't rude. Instead, he moved away from them to take a nap at the edge of the balcony from which the contestants would watch the matches. Technically, he might not be supposed to be there, but no one was likely to object. His two teammates were participating, after all.

Gradually, the other participants trickled in. Ino and Chouji greeted Shikamaru with surprise but were clearly delighted to see him there to wish them luck. The two Leaf teams chatted among themselves while the Suna team kept to themselves on the other side of the balcony.

Finally, the arena had filled, and the time had come to start the exams. Tsunade got to her feet in the kage box. "This is a tournament. It will start with six rounds. The victors of those six will fight each other in the semi-finals. For the final round, the three remaining will fight each other all at once until only one remains."

Sasuke winced. He knew exactly who those three would be, and he also knew who would team up. Itachi and Naruto would work together to get him out of the way before facing each other. "Just don't do anything too unpleasant or embarrassing," he requested quietly. "At least let me show off enough to get a chance at a promotion. You two are virtually guaranteed to get the promotion, but they'll probably take any excuse not to promote me."

"We'll put on a good show, little brother," Itachi promised. "Just keep your fighting clean. I know much of what you learned from Orochimaru is intended to be deadly."

"If I can't fight genin without killing them, I don't deserve the promotion," Sasuke said.

"Now, this screen will select and display the pairs for the first round," Tsunade said. She didn't specify that the selection process was rigged.

The first name on the screen was Sasuke's.

"What!" Sakura shrieked. "There's some mistake! There's got to be."

All the others were whispering, but their words were covered by Sakura's shrieking.

Naruto's name was number six.

"Well. That explains it," Sakura snapped. "They've used the names from the last exam instead of the current one. Obviously, Naruto's not here. He's barely been back in the village a few weeks."

"Um, Sakura," Ino said. "I don't think it's a mistake." She was staring at the screen, her face pale.

"What! Why?"

"Because using the previous exam's list doesn't explain the last name," Ino said softly.

Sakura whipped her attention back to the screen and stared, her jaw dropped.

Number twelve, fighting Yamanaka Ino.

Uchiha Itachi.

"This is impossible! Itachi's a missing nin! He's Akatsuki. He can't be here. None of them are here. There are only nine of us!" But she felt a directed pulse of chakra from the back of the balcony and slowly turned around, seeing three figures that she realized had been present and overlooked for the whole exam.

One at a time, they broke their genjutsu and took down their hoods. Naruto went first, a grin on his face. Sasuke went second, smirking slightly. Itachi went last, staring out over the heads of the genin on the balcony.

Sasuke and Naruto had flanked Itachi. By all technicalities, Sasuke and Itachi should have been flanking Naruto, but that was unwise because of what it risked giving away. Since the world knew Itachi was a former ANBU captain, they would expect his teammates to follow his lead. If someone else took the leadership position, people would get suspicious. It might mean there was another ANBU captain on the team, it might mean that the head of the clan who was protecting Itachi was on the team, or it might mean both. Those were suspicions they weren't ready to address, so Itachi took command.

Sasuke would never have command and knew it. Even if he was back for years without giving anyone any further reasons to mistrust him, he wouldn't be permitted to lead. It was the price of betrayal. Of course, he wouldn't be working with anyone but Naruto and Itachi, and they were both better suited to lead anyway.

"I am so glad I'm up first," Sasuke said quietly when Sakura seemed to be getting over her shock. "I have to be down there, leaving you to answer questions, idiot." He headed off in a hurry.

"Fuck you, you bastard!" Naruto shouted. "And everybody's too intimidated by you to ask you anything," he added to Itachi, speaking too quietly for anyone to hear. "Maybe if I stay right next to you, I can share that intimidation."

Itachi laughed softly. He wasn't happy that most ninjas in the world were a little afraid of him, even those who should be his allies, so he tried to accept Naruto's more optimistic view. "You and my brother need new insults."

"No, the old ones are better," Naruto disagreed. "The insults we could throw at each other now-traitor, monster, and the like-have the possibility of doing harm. The old ones don't hurt anybody."

"I see your point." He activated his Sharingan for the slight improvement to his vision that would let him see something of Sasuke's fight. The Mangekyo would let him see better still, but he didn't want to strain the bond for no reason. "Help me know what's happening," he requested quietly. "If we're talking, they're less likely to interrupt."

Chouji stared at them and glanced at Shikamaru. "That explains why Shikamaru's dad mentioned having a team in the exams. I figured it was one of the teams that didn't make it, but I was wondering why I didn't know he'd taken a team. It must have been them."

Ino scowled. "Shikamaru! Get over here!"

Shikamaru sighed, starting to think he'd made an error in coming. He slowly sauntered over.

"How can two traitors be in the village without facing execution?" Ino demanded.

"Look at Itachi's forehead protector," Shikamaru said and yawned. "That's not Konoha's symbol. Sasuke's wearing the same. A clan head took them in, is vouching for them and protecting them. Sasuke's also wearing some sort of loyalty seal, which was probably a requirement for letting him come back."

"But," Sakura said. "But who would accept Itachi? After everything he's done? And why would Sasuke have a loyalty seal and not Itachi?"

Focused on Shikamaru as she was, Sakura didn't notice the scowl Naruto directed at her, but Shikamaru did. He also noticed that Itachi's expression hadn't changed, and Itachi kept his Sharingan eyes focused on the arena, where the proctor was going over the rules. Shikamaru added the details to his mental notes; there were still a number of mysteries about those three, and every detail might help solve one. It was interesting that Naruto reacted badly to someone insulting Itachi, even if those insults were only referencing what was common knowledge about the massacre. "Obviously, there's something we don't know about the Uchiha massacre," he said. "Itachi was ANBU; he might have been under orders or have used the tragedy for some mission he'd been assigned. ANBU aren't straightforward." He wasn't going to tell them anything about the clan head protecting the Uchihas and hoped they'd forget.

"But that doesn't explain why Sasuke's wearing a loyalty seal and Itachi isn't!"

"Doesn't it?" Shikamaru asked. Sakura had never faced the truth about Sasuke. Shikamaru felt no desire to state the obvious and listen to screeching. Let Sasuke or Naruto point out the obvious. Or let them get Itachi to do it; Sakura was unlikely to screech at Itachi.

"Sasuke's opponent does not look happy," Naruto said. "He looks like he's about to forfeit without fighting, which certainly won't impress Gaara." The opponent was from Suna.

Itachi winced slightly, the movement too subtle for anyone but Naruto to catch, and glanced at the Kage box. He hadn't realized the Kazekage was there.

"Don't worry, he knows," Naruto said quietly. "He isn't holding a grudge against you." Knowing Itachi would not want to talk about it any further, he went back to describing the events in the arena. It was a short task; the Suna genin managed to hold onto his courage until Sasuke drew Naruto's sword, borrowed to replace the Kusanagi for the day, and started forward. Then he quickly folded and shouted his forfeit for the world to hear.

"Little brother is not that frightening," Itachi murmured and let his Sharingan fade.

Naruto laughed, then laughed again when Sakura intercepted Sasuke on his way back to the balcony. "Sakura apparently agrees with you, seeing as she'd rather approach him than us. Or that might just be because she still has a crush on him." Remembering what little Itachi had told him about Sasuke's time with Orochimaru, Naruto sobered. "Is that going to be a problem for him?"

"It shouldn't be. He won't be interested-"

"LIke that's anything new."

"-but he won't panic." Itachi shook his head. "I was never sure if I should laugh or sympathize when I saw them chasing him."

"If you eventually tell him you saw that, please make sure I'm there. He'll be furious. I don't think he realizes how often you slipped into Konoha and checked on him."

"Well, I was careful to make sure he didn't. If he'd seen me, we'd have fought," Itachi pointed out. "That would have been rather hard on Konoha, and it would have made sneaking in harder the next time."

"Don't you need to be down in the arena, Sakura?" Sasuke demanded. "It's your match! Unless you'd rather interrogate me than make chuunin?" He stalked over to Itachi and Naruto and scowled when both of them laughed softly. "You were supposed to answer their questions," he snapped at Naruto. "You're the least scary of the three of us."

"Yeah, but I was standing next to Itachi. He's the scariest, and he had his Sharingan active."

"Why?"

"I had expected slightly more of a fight," Itachi said.

Though he needed a second to translate, Sasuke nodded. He still wasn't used to the fact that Itachi was nearly blind, wasn't sure he'd ever be used to it.

The three only paid enough attention to Sakura's fight to know she won against her opponent, who was from the other Konoha team. Not wanting to get caught like Sasuke had, Naruto jumped from the balcony to the arena floor and waited for his opponent, the second member of the unfamiliar Konoha team.

Having no desire to demonstrate too many of his skills prior to the final round, when he'd actually be fighting worthwhile opponents, Naruto almost wished he could intimidate his opponent into forfeiting like Sasuke's. Still, for all that he was now known to be a jinchuuriki, he did not have the frightening reputation the Uchihas did. Perhaps he ought to do a stint as a missing nin? But the thought wasn't appealing. Besides, he didn't think he'd really like having everyone be afraid of him. It would be too close to the dislike he'd faced for years.

Without using intimidation or his true skills, Naruto would have to use his mind to win the bout. With Itachi back, Naruto was remembering some of his better traps and tricks. He created a number of Kage Bunshin and used some to keep his opponent busy while others moved around setting traps. When the traps were ready, he lured his opponent into one. When she was dangling from the tree in a net, he put a kunai to her throat and held it there until she forfeited. Then he dismissed the Kage Bunshin he'd created, and since the Kage Bunshin had created the traps from duplicated supplies, they vanished as well without Naruto having to bother to dismantle them.

Naruto flickered up to the balcony and sat back down by Itachi.

"Nice fight," Itachi said. "I recognize that trap."

"Yeah. Very basic; the trick's in hiding it and luring the target into it. Anko was pissed when we got her with it. Sasuke narrated?"

"I did," Sasuke agreed. "I didn't know you were so good with traps."

Naruto shrugged. "I didn't use them as much after Itachi left. And when we were on the same team, I worried you'd connect them to Itachi, so I didn't like to use them at all."

Grudgingly, Sasuke nodded. He had known his brother was good with traps, having been caught in them from time to time when Itachi had made time to spend with him. If Naruto had used a similar trap when they were on the same team, Sasuke knew he would have reacted very badly. Obviously, Naruto had known that as well. Of course, if Naruto had been that close to his brother, Itachi would have advised him on how to handle their interactions. Itachi had always known Sasuke's mind too well, able to predict and manipulate Sasuke's actions with minimal difficulty. If Orochimaru hadn't interfered, Sasuke would have danced to Itachi's tune precisely and probably would have killed his brother without learning the truth.

Chouji won his fight, meaning he would be up against Naruto in the next round. His clan techniques defeated the the other Konoha nin. The two Suna nins had a longer fight, using wind attacks against earth defenses. Eventually, the earth user won when the wind user ran out of chakra. Though it had had some flashy moments, the fight had gotten boring fairly quickly, so Itachi and Naruto started planning something for Anko while Sasuke listened in amusement and some disbelief. He couldn't believe his perfect, stoic brother was planning to prank the crazy snake lady. Eventually, he couldn't resist adding his own comments, though he continued to watch Sakura try to get up the nerve to approach them. He was delighted to realize that Naruto was right; Itachi's presence seemed to keep her from wanting to come near them.

Itachi smirked at them when his turn came up, knowing that they'd be subjected to questions as soon as he was gone. When the two Suna nins had cleared the arena, Itachi vanished in a murder of crows that flew down into the arena and reformed into him.

"How much of that is illusion and how much real?" Naruto asked.

"Why ask me? You know my brother better than I do, it seems."

"Genjutsu isn't my best ability. You've got those fancy eyes."

"Yeah, but so does he." Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know. Itachi's abilities with crows and ravens are odd."

They ran out of time to talk as Sakura finished wishing Ino luck and stalked over to them. "What is going on?" she demanded.

Naruto felt Itachi activate his Mangekyo Sharingan, pulling his attention back to the fight, though he still dodged instinctively when Sakura tried to hit him.

"Our teammates are fighting," Naruto said. "Shouldn't we pay attention to the fight?"

"How are you teammates with Itachi?" Sakura demanded. "How are you, Sasuke? I thought you wanted to kill him!"

"It turns out there was more to the massacre than I knew," Sasuke said shortly. "When I found out, I brought my brother home. A few people helped us and stood for us."

Itachi defeated Ino with a genjutsu, not Tsukuyomi, that had the advantage of knocking her out without doing real harm and used the same crow technique to return to his place on the balcony.

"Why are you wearing a seal?" Sakura demanded as Itachi formed out of his crows. She flinched at his presence and stepped back but kept her eyes on Sasuke.

"Little brother is a traitor," Itachi said quietly. "The seal is instead of execution, imprisonment, or a fight no one wanted." He knew a little about Sakura, from Naruto and from watching his brother. He hoped she would listen to him when he doubted she'd listen to Naruto or Sasuke.

"Sasuke's less of a traitor than you are!" she snapped at him.

Sasuke tensed immediately. "Itachi's no traitor. He followed orders when he left Konoha. I do not have his excuse, Sakura."

The screen flickered and changed to display the matches for the second round.

"We're needed in the arena," Sasuke said.

"This isn't over!" Sakura snapped. "For you either," she added to Naruto as she left.

The fight was slightly more interesting than Sasuke's previous round; Sakura had no intention of surrendering to him. With her strength, she could somewhat fight him in a taijutsu bout, and she could break the level of genjutsu he was willing to use for the exam. Unfortunately for her, Sasuke knew her strengths going in and kept the battle long range, using ninjutsu and thrown weapons and waiting for her to wear down so he could incapacitate her without hurting her. He knew perfectly well that if he hurt anyone in these fights, it would be held against him as he tried to fit back into Konoha and would very likely prevent him from making chuunin. Itachi was under a milder form of the same limitation when it came to his reputation, but there was very little chance he wouldn't get the promotion. After all, Tsunade knew the truth about the massacre.

Eventually, Sakura got tired of letting Sasuke control the fight and rushed him. He let her think she was controlling the taijutsu match then put on a sudden burst of speed and put her in a submission hold. "Forfeit," he ordered.

Reluctantly, Sakura obeyed. She tried to corner him as they walked back to the balcony, but he quickly returned to his brother. After the previous confrontation, Sakura had gone back to being unwilling to be near Itachi. Even if she believed Sasuke that Itachi had never really been a traitor, he was still a dangerous and intimidating man. One who had no business being in a chuunin exam; Sakura intended to ask Tsunade about that the next time she had some privacy with her mentor.

Naruto played a waiting game with Chouji, summoning clones repeatedly and letting Chouji use his family techniques on the clones while Naruto himself vanished. Chouji didn't have the skills to find where the real Naruto had gone or to tell him from a clone. Eventually, he collapsed from chakra exhaustion, and Naruto slipped out of the rubble where he'd hidden and flickered back to the balcony as the proctor declared him the winner.

Itachi used genjutsu again. He'd get a chance to display other skills in a few minutes, when fighting Sasuke and Naruto. Besides, he wasn't particularly worried about earning the promotion. He was no genin, and the entire ninja world knew it. Even if he didn't get the promotion, unlikely as that was, he'd be doing ANBU work, not genin-level missions.

Sasuke and Naruto joined Itachi in the arena, and the proctor gestured them over to him.

"Since this is a three person battle, there are a few extra rules. You can fight a free for all, or two of you can team up against the third. When one person is eliminated, the battle will pause briefly to get the defeated person clear. If he is uninjured, he is to join the Hokage to watch whichever two of you remain for the remainder of the match." The proctor clearly didn't understand the last instruction.

Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto exchanged glances. They understood, but they had no intention of explaining. The Hokage clearly guessed who would be first eliminated. That meant Sasuke would be out from under the supervision of his brother and best friend without being sealed into Naruto's apartment. Naruto might also be too distracted to monitor the loyalty seal; Tsunade knew Itachi and Naruto were looking forward to their little sparring match. If she wanted to keep supervision on Sasuke, she needed to set ANBU on him directly, or she needed to put him somewhere where ANBU would already be posted. The easiest place for that was with the Hokage.

And even if she was wrong and one of the others got knocked out of the fight, she wouldn't mind Naruto's or Itachi's company to comment on the remaining two fighters.

"This is going to be interesting," Shikamaru murmured. He had a feeling he'd learn a lot about those three from this bout, even if he doubted any of them would be taking it particularly seriously.

"What do you mean?" Sakura demanded.

"I doubt they're going to take the easiest route of fighting a three sided battle. The question is who will ally."

"Isn't it obvious?" Sakura asked. "Naruto and Sasuke are teammates, and they both have reason to resent Itachi."

Maybe, but Shikamaru didn't think so. He knew perfectly well that the three had been living together. And even if Sakura was ignoring it, Shikamaru had caught Sasuke's instinctive defense of his older brother when Sakura had called Itachi a traitor. It meant the brothers might team up against Naruto. Of course, they also had a long history of fighting each other. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed when Naruto stepped back and let Sasuke and Itachi start the fight. Shikamaru was a little surprised Naruto was letting them fight without interfering on either side; he would have expected Naruto to worry they'd slip back into their prior animosity, or at least that Sasuke would. Still, that didn't seem to be happening. Eventually, Naruto and Itachi traded off, and Shikamaru figured out what they were doing; they were giving Sasuke every opportunity to showcase his skills. Which meant they would eventually team up against Sasuke. That was very, very interesting. On the surface, it was the least likely alliance. Of course, Shikamaru had the advantage of knowing they were both ANBU, but he felt like there was something more to it.

Sasuke and Itachi fought with swords interspersed with genjutsu. Sasuke had to avoid looking into Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan eyes. Eventually, Itachi drove Sasuke back to Naruto and stepped back rather than re-engaging. Sasuke caught the switch in partners almost immediately, in time to defend against Naruto's wind attack. They engaged in a ninjutsu battle, using many elemental abilities interspersed with other jutsu. The battle got fierce enough that Sasuke got distracted from tracking Itachi, making the mistake of forgetting that they would eventually team up on him. As a result, he ended up in a series of traps that Itachi had carefully orchestrated and hidden while Naruto kept Sasuke occupied.

When Sasuke was caught, Itachi materialized out of crows in front of him while Naruto dashed over and pressed a kunai to his throat. "I hate that fucking technique," Sasuke snapped. The sequence of traps was intricate and not what he'd expected from his nearly blind brother.

Itachi smirked. "I do like my birds. Do you have a way out of this, little brother?"

Not one he'd use during the exam. "Forfeit!" he called. He'd known this would be the result, but he still hated to lose, so he was scowling when Naruto broke him free of the ninja wire and the swampy ground. Naruto and Itachi stood side by side and watched Sasuke go to the kage box. When he was settled, they turned to each other, eyes meeting.

"Ready, Itachi?"

Smirking, Itachi bowed his head.

They started fighting, sword to kunai, with the occasional fast jutsu when one of them got enough time for the necessary seals. There would be no traps between them; they were too familiar with each other's traps and would not get caught in them, so there was no point in wasting the effort.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he watched. He knew why Sasuke was sitting behind Tsunade now, but that wasn't as interesting as how easily Itachi and Naruto had worked together. They knew each other, knew how the other fought, beyond just a shared career in ANBU. Now they fought in what should have been a serious match, especially at the speeds they were using, but they were both smiling, trusting the other's skill. They were enjoying this. Shikamaru settled back to watch, impressed by the show they were putting on. They were proving that Naruto was able to stand on a level with Uchiha Itachi, who was already featured in legends, though mostly as the villain. Again, Shikamaru's eyes narrowed when Naruto's expression shifted to a smirk.

Naruto winked at Itachi and stumbled slightly the next time his kunai met Itachi's sword, seemingly the victim of a subtle genjutsu. Itachi immediately took advantage of the opening and got his sword at Naruto's throat.

Shikamaru smiled when Naruto announced his forfeit, confident that he was one of the very few that knew Naruto had thrown the match. Apparently, they'd decided it would be a little too revealing if Naruto actually defeated Itachi.

Tsunade got to her feet and stepped to the railing of her box, looking down on the two men in the arena with a smile. "The victor of this year's chuunin exams is Uchiha Itachi, sworn vassal to the head of the Namikaze clan."

Absolute pandemonium reigned.