Summary: When two souls encounter each other in an endless abyss, a chance to alter their past is offered to them by the very embodiment of death. When an opportunity presents itself to you, how far will you go to hold onto it before it slips away from you?

This fic deviates from canon ch.402.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Phantom Parade

4

Wisp

"You did well, son."

Itachi's sooty lashes fluttered open slowly to calmly peer at his father, who held the same cross-legged meditation pose from beside him, his eyes still closed.

Through the open shoji doors and across the engawa veranda that gave view of the garden, whispers of the wind could be heard, along with sounds of trickling water and the clack of the bamboo fountain. It was overall a quiet evening—fit for soothing the mind compared to other nights that were spent on training the body.

Itachi's eyes travelled from his father to the garden, his sharp eyes watching the small frog that was settled on top of a stone lantern, its belly facing upwards as it basked in the rays of the setting sun. As he absentmindedly watched the frog, the cogs of his mind began to turn as he inwardly repeated his father's words. They were familiar words that he'd heard many times past and present, although the meaning behind them had changed now.

Tonight, they were more profound than before, as he'd passed the first stage of the chunin exams with flying colors several hours ago.

Itachi eyed his father again, the older man's countenance unwavering as he maintained his pose. If Fugaku knew about the unusual weight of his words, he gave no indication—and Itachi had no intention of pointing it out. With a silent breath, Itachi closed his own eyes to resume his own mindfulness.

"Thank you, otou-san," He murmured quietly.

"Hn," Fugaku grunted lightly in reply.

Serene silence fell on father and son again, each absorbed in their own tranquility, their forms still and unfaltering. The periodic clack of the bamboo fountain was the only thing that kept them grounded, serving as a reminder for their minds to not stray from the meditative path. A long while later, the silence was broken by the older of the two.

"Itachi," Fugaku started gruffly, drawing Itachi's attention for a second time. "Once you become chunin, what say you enter the Military Force?"

Itachi's eyes blinked open and he turned his head to regard his father once more, all the while silently mulling over the older Uchiha's suggestion.

Currently led by Fugaku, the judicial organization that was gifted to the Uchiha by the Second Hokage was a symbol of justice and peace, the officers tasked with duties to maintain the village's law. Only strong shinobi were capable of bringing other shinobi to justice, and it was befitting that Konoha's strongest clan carried out the noble cause.

As the clan heir, it was natural for him to join the prided corps and to eventually take the reins from his father once he was of age. However, Itachi's ambitions didn't lie within the military—within the confines of the village walls.

He would see to it that justice was served both inside and outside of Konoha.

"No," Itachi answered tentatively. "I do not wish to enter the Military Force."

Fugaku slowly opened his eyes, his piercing onyx orbs fixated on his eldest son. "You have other aspirations," He calmly stated, rather than questioning.

Itachi nodded. "I wish to continue growing as a shinobi," He said slowly. "My goals lie within ANBU."

Fugaku hummed lowly, his deep tone reverberating at the unexpected answer. "You are breaking tradition," He pointed out. "Why?"

Itachi held his father's level gaze for a long while as he contemplated his next answer. Their conversation was spiraling down an unknown path, one that he hadn't walked in his previous life.

"I want to dedicate my life to protecting both Konoha and the clan, to maintain peace and order from the shadows, inside and outside of the village walls," Itachi eventually said. He paused briefly before continuing softly and meaningfully. "I want to protect those that are dear to me."

Fugaku regarded Itachi with a profound look in his eyes as he thought to himself in silence. As a father, he'd thought that he'd had a deep understanding of his remarkably intelligent son, however this conversation had proved him otherwise. Now… now he truly understood. Just from this exchange alone, he'd come to understand the fate that Itachi had set for himself.

Shame flooded his heart as his mind reeled back to what his beloved wife had said many months ago.

Mikoto had been right.

He had failed as a citizen of Konoha, the village that his ancestors had painstakingly brought up with their own hands together with the other founding fathers. He had failed as the clan patriarch, disillusioned by ambitions that would tarnish the clan's honor, that would eventually bring them to demise. Most importantly, he had failed as a father, having almost used his own son in order to achieve those inglorious ambitions.

Yet here that son was, willing to sacrifice himself for the peace and prosperity of both the clan and the village, to protect those that he held dear to his heart.

It was the complete opposite of his own ambitions, now forgotten in the past.

"A noble cause," Fugaku said thickly. "I am proud of you, Itachi."

Itachi blinked slowly, his brows arched in faint surprise. He didn't know what to expect when he'd resolved himself to talk of his aspirations to his father, but this… this was most unexpected. After regarding his father with eyes full of wonder, he eventually collected himself and inclined his head.

"Thank you, otou-san," He said softly.

"Aa," Fugaku grunted quietly in reply.

Absolute quietness blanketed them once more, neither of them knowing what more to say, all the while deep within their own whirling thoughts. One was full with shame for not knowing his own flesh and blood, while the other was full with astonishment at the newfound unfamiliarity from the man that had given him life.

However, through the myriad of emotions and thoughts, one thing was clear to the both of them—they still had plenty of time and many opportunities to know and understand each other, as father and son.

Not long after, the pattering of feet against the boarded floor of the veranda sounded, drawing them out of their reveries. Both father and son turned their heads in unison at the entryway, just in time to see a cherubic face pop out from the side.

"Sasuke," Itachi greeted, a soft smile emerging on his face. "Have you just arrived home?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied enthusiastically. He'd just returned from another outing with Shisui, the both of them having spent their day with their new friends (and lots and lots of ninken) again. "Okaa-san sent me to inform you that dinner will be ready soon."

Fugaku hummed in approval, his hand outstretched to beckon Sasuke closer. "Come," He murmured gruffly. "Meditate with us until then."

Sasuke's face lit up and he hurried into the room. He settled himself beside Itachi, who watched in amusement as he attempted to mimic their cross-legged position. However in his rush to imitate them, he pulled one leg up too far and toppled over, bumping into Itachi's side with a quiet "oof."

A chuckle escaped Itachi as he hoisted his beloved little brother back up, while Fugaku covered up his snort with a cough.

"Proceed slowly, Sasuke," Fugaku instructed firmly. "Sit up properly, with your back straight."

"Yes, otou-san," Sasuke replied eagerly, obediently following his father's instructions.

After the young Uchiha successfully pulled himself into the meditative position (with a helping hand from his elder brother), the three carried on in silence for the next while, each in their own mindfulness by each other's sides.

The clanging of blade against blade reverberated in the late evening air as Itachi and Shisui repeatedly swung their tanto at each other.

After a peaceful dinner filled with Itachi's favorite dishes to celebrate his passing of the written exam, Fugaku had advised Itachi to rest for the evening. The second stage of the chunin exam was taking place the next morning, and it would be ideal for him to arrive in peak condition. However, instead of heeding his father's words, Itachi had decided to sneak out for a late night spar with Shisui at the forest behind the compound.

Itachi pushed against the force of Shisui's blade and propelled himself backwards a distance away. With a deft flick of his wrist, he launched a wave of shuriken at Shisui, who in turn deflected the projectiles with his blade. They rounded each other for a brief moment before flickering in front of one another to resume their clash.

As Itachi deflected Shisui's relentless advances, he couldn't help but be dismayed at the short sword in his hand. A master with the blade he may be, but it simply wasn't the type that he preferred, being long swords.

Then again, he couldn't really be picky with his tools—the short sword was the perfect size for his current body compared to the long sword that his adult body was used to wielding.

He inwardly sighed at the thought. Truly, he couldn't wait until he was taller again.

A sharp screech sounded as Itachi shed his tanto away from Shisui's. He slashed and jabbed here and there before pivoting towards Shisui, his elbow striking at the other's chest. Once the blow connected, he swiftly aimed his elbow upwards.

With his free hand, Shisui blocked the next incoming attack at his face. Before he could retaliate, Itachi pushed against Shisui and whirled, delivering a roundhouse kick to his gut. With utmost speed, Shisui blocked the attack with the flat side of his blade before retreating a distance away.

"Let's stop here, Itachi," Shisui called. "You need to preserve your strength for tomorrow."

On the contrary, Itachi was more than capable of fighting for hours on end. Nonetheless, he nodded anyways, sheathing his tanto with a flick of his wrist before striding towards the older Uchiha.

After collecting their scattered weapons, they settled down atop a particular boulder, having agreed to rest for a while before heading back towards the compound. As Shisui handed a canteen to Itachi, he couldn't help but eye his dear little cousin for a moment.

"Tell me," Shisui started conversationally, pulling out a granola bar from his pack to snack on. "What's on your mind, cousin?"

Itachi regarded the older Uchiha before he took a long swig from the flask, contemplating his answer as he consumed the water. Truly, Shisui's keen sense of perception never ceased to amaze him.

"Otou-san suggested that I enter the corps once I become chunin," He said slowly.

Shisui perked at that and began to chew hastily, opting to swallow his food first instead of replying with his mouth full. "That's great, little cousin!" He finally exclaimed. "You accepted, right?"

"I declined."

"Yes, yes," Shisui nodded enthusiastically. "Of course you decl—" He did a double take. "You declined?!"

Itachi's lips pursed lightly and he nodded. "Aa."

Shisui opened his mouth, breathing in as if to speak, only for nothing to come out. The questions that had rushed up to the tip of his tongue had suddenly stopped as he was struck with a thought. He closed his mouth and exhaled through his nose, turning to fully regard the younger Uchiha.

"The clan will not be happy with your decision to break tradition," He stated. "Will you be alright?"

Thinking back on Fugaku's silent approval and support not too long ago, Itachi nodded. "I will be fine," He replied softly. "Tradition will not stop me from protecting both the village and the clan."

"Itachi…" Shisui murmured warmly. The corners of his eyes softened and his body relaxed at Itachi's determination, only to stiffen again as his sharp eyes caught a flicker of unreadable emotions within the younger's obsidian orbs.

"Itachi," He said again, tentatively this time. "What else are you thinking?"

The young Uchiha heir held his gaze. There were many things that he was thinking about, most of which he would never speak to Shisui about.

"I will enter the ranks of ANBU in the near future," Itachi said steadily. The corners of his lips curved downwards before he continued. "When that day comes, the clan elders will attempt to use me to spy on the village for their dishonorable means."

Shisui frowned in dismay. The two of them had been secretly discussing their shared ideals for peace over the past few weeks, and recently, whispers of a potential coup d'etat had begun to circulate around the compound. It was no surprise to Shisui that the clan elders were beginning to dredge up plans that would involve his beloved cousin.

"In that case, let's scrape together our own plans once you become chunin," Shisui suggested. If Itachi entering ANBU was the trigger for the coup d'etat to come into effect, then they would have to make their move to prevent it relatively soon.

"Aa," Itachi nodded in agreement.

Hushed stillness blanketed them, the midnight autumn breeze brushing against their skin. Itachi and Shisui observed the night sky that was littered with stars, both lost in their own thoughts about the future of the clan. Eventually the silence was broken by the older of the two.

"You're amazing, little cousin," Shisui said wistfully. "I've always believed that a true shinobi is one who protects from the shadows. If you enter ANBU and achieve your goals, perhaps you'll become the truest shinobi known to man."

Itachi stilled for a brief moment. He slowly turned to regard Shisui in profound silence, the older's familiar words resounding within him once again in this lifetime. Silently, he reflected on the ideals that they shared—principles that he lived by and had vowed to continue keeping in this life. Memories of the massacre also flashed within his mind, serving as fuel to deepen his resolve once more.

"You should join ANBU with me," Itachi said quietly. 'Properly this time.'

Shisui blinked as he eyed Itachi with a mix of incredulity and curiosity, the proposition settling down in his mind. Not long after, a dazzling grin broke out on his visage.

"I should, shouldn't I?"

The sweet fragrance of vanilla wafted in the air, wrapping the Haruno family's bakery and its occupants in comfortable warmth. The front door was opened slightly ajar, the door chimes singing along with the gentle morning breeze and the faint rustles of leaves.

"Naruto-kun," Mebuki called, coming out from the back kitchen. "Which book do you want to read today?"

"Umm," Naruto hummed as he thought to himself, his lips twisted endearingly. Once he came to his conclusion, his eyes lit up and he bounced in his seat excitedly. "The one with the blossom lady!"

"Ah, I should've known," Mebuki chuckled, a knowing smile on her lips as she pulled out a white book crested with cherry blossoms on the front cover. "It's your favorite book, after all."

"That's 'cause she's so cool!" Naruto gushed, letting Mebuki lift him up for her to sit on the seat. She settled him comfortably on her lap, all the while listening to his excited babble. "She beat the bad lady and her shadow army, and protected her friends!"

"You're right," Mebuki rubbed his head lovingly. "She really is cool, isn't she?"

Beside them, Sakura was smiling at the enthusiastic chatter between her mother and her best friend, all the while languidly flipping a page in the thick tome before her. It was another history book that she'd recently obtained courtesy of Kakashi, who'd dredged up several books for her from who knows where. Truth be told, she was very much surprised to learn that he read normal books compared to the smutty orange novels that he'd constantly carry around in the old timeline.

At what point would Kakashi come across those books and evolve into a shameless pervert anyways?

A silent sigh escaped her as she flipped another page and began to skim through the next passage. She'd gone through a dozen more books ever since she'd consulted Kakashi and Shisui, both of which had been plenty helpful with the books that they'd lent her. None of the books had what she was looking for though, much to her utter dismay.

Really, why was it so hard to find anything about her lineage?

Once Naruto had finished settling down his excitement, Mebuki opened the white book and began to read to him. Sakura idly listened to her mother read, only to tune her out after a couple minutes in favor of reading her history book.

She'd heard the story many times already, of a blossom deity and her wolf familiar, the both of them fending off another deity from bringing demise to the land, and eventually emerging victorious in the war. It had been her favorite book when she was younger, undoubtedly because the heroine was a princess of blossoms and she'd felt a connection through her namesake. At one point, she had been so enraptured by the book that she would prance around the house pretending she was fending off her (imaginary) foes, just like the blossom deity.

Of course, a fairytale was just a fairytale, and right now, she had other priorities that involved real, factual history.

The rest of the morning was spent in peace, with the soft murmurs and giggles from Mebuki and Naruto as they read the children's book together, and the periodic flip of pages from both their book and Sakura's historical tome. Once in a while, Kizashi would pop his head out of the kitchen to check on them. By the time noon came around, Mebuki and Naruto had finished reading the book and Mebuki had up and disappeared back into the kitchen to help Kizashi prepare for the afternoon rush, leaving the two children to their own devices and to man the store.

The jingle of the door chimes rang as the shop entrance opened fully to let a woman inside.

"Hello!" Sakura and Naruto greeted the woman in chorus, bright smiles plastered on both of their faces.

"Yes, he—" The woman stopped midway of her own greeting at the sight of Naruto, a deep frown on her face.

Sensing the woman's displeasure, Naruto shrunk back in his chair. Sakura reached to clasp Naruto's hand in her own before shooting her own daggers at the woman.

It had become the norm for patrons to enter, only to stop and stare at Naruto because of the demon fox inside of him. Naruto had insisted that he stay at home when Mebuki first suggested that he come to work with them many months ago, not wanting to ruin the family's business with his presence. Naturally, the entire family had vehemently denied his insistence to stay home—they would protect him and show the world just exactly how sweet of a child he really was.

Of course, it wasn't like the general public could do anything to him—they had enough sense to save face in front of another child and her parents, who'd made it perfectly clear that he was under their wing.

Phonies, all of them.

"Do you have a problem with one of my kids?"

Three pairs of eyes turned to the entryway of the kitchen, where Mebuki had emerged with a sweet smile plastered on her face. The sharp look in her jade eyes and the bite in her tone said otherwise. Behind her was Kizashi, who'd also come out to check on the situation and to placate his wife in the event that she unleashed her fury.

The woman cleared her throat. She'd come here for a purpose and she didn't want to upset the owner of one of the village's renowned bakeries. Haruno Mebuki had a fiery temper under her cool demeanor, but she also had a lot of influence in the marketplace. One would not dare to cross the blonde woman, especially in her territory.

"No," The woman replied stiffly. "I'm here to make an order."

"I see," Mebuki nodded, her sugary smile stretched further. It pleased her to know that the patron knew better than to pick on her little blond sunshine. Her eyes landed on said little blond sunshine and warmed. "Naruto-kun, can you help this auntie here pick out her cake?"

At Sakura's reassuring squeeze, Naruto nodded. He'd done this many times already and had personally taste tested a lot of confections. He was practically an expert at recommending them now.

"Okay," He said bashfully, his equally shy cerulean eyes peering up at the patron.

Sakura pulled out the catalogue for him, all the while eyeing the woman that was carefully stepping closer to them.

"What sort of cake would you like?" Sakura politely asked, starting up the conversation for Naruto.

"Something with mangoes," The woman answered slowly, her cautious eyes flickering back and forth between the two children.

Naruto perked at that. "Mangoes are yummy! I know some good ones!" He exclaimed, flipping the catalogue open for the woman to see.

He pointed at images here and there, all the while gushing about how delicious each cake was. As he chattered on and on, the woman slowly began to relax and reply in earnest, having noticed his genuine eagerness to help her.

"Do you think my son will like this one?" She inquired, pointing at a particular picture.

Naruto nodded vigorously. "Yeah!"

The woman regarded him with eyes full of wonder for a moment before asking, "How can you be so sure?"

Naruto blinked as he contemplated his answer. Eventually a dazzling grin emerged on his cherubic face and his bright cerulean orbs sparkled. "Because it's full of love!"

The woman stared at the blond child for a long while in an utter daze, the last of her malevolence crumbling away from the sheer force of his brilliant innocence. Once she'd snapped out of her daze, guilt and shame began to wash over her.

"You're right," She finally said, a tender smile on her features. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto's eyes lit up again, his already bright grin glowing even more. "You're welcome!"

A triumphant smile emerged on Sakura's features as she watched the scene. She met eyes with her parents, both of which had been watching with identical jubilant smiles on their features.

Bit by bit, they would prove to the entire village that their little blond sunshine was not the demon that he was made out to be.

Itachi swept his obsidian orbs across the vicinity.

Hundreds of genins were on standby, many of which were idly chattering with their acquaintances and their jounin leaders, while others were picking silent fights by glaring here and there. All were waiting for the exam proctor to appear, to signal the start of the second stage of the chunin exam. Before them was the Forty-Fourth Training Grounds—The Forest of Death.

"Remember what I've taught you, son," Fugaku gruffly murmured from beside him. "You must be swift and relentless."

"You have your salves, yes?" Shisui cut in, his voice laced with mild panic. "Do you want more? I can go get more for you."

Itachi pointed an exasperated glance at his father and his cousin. One had his arms crossed, a stiff expression on his face, while the other was fidgeting ceaselessly, his mouth running at a hundred miles a minute. Both of which had been needlessly fretting over him for the past fifteen minutes that they'd been waiting.

Being the only one of his cell to take the exam, both Fugaku and Shisui had followed him to the exam stage in place of his jounin instructor. In his past life, only Shisui had accompanied him and waited around with him, and so the addition of his father this time was truly a surprise.

He didn't expect them to fret over him like mother hens that were about to be separated from their chicks though.

Really, if he didn't know any better, he'd assumed that they were the ones taking the exams, judging by how tense they were. Despite his ire, he didn't have the heart to be displeased at them. Like opposite sides of a coin, the two of them heavily contrasted each other and he couldn't help but find the sight to be very humorous.

"Do not worry so much," Itachi said patiently. "I will be fine."

"Of course you'll be fine," Shisui retorted exasperatedly. "Knowing you, you'll be more than fine. We just can't help but worry for you though," He said with a slight whine. "Isn't that right, uncle?"

Fugaku coughed and averted his eyes, feeling mildly awkward for being put on the spot. After all, he was not the type of man to openly declare his feelings, especially the delicate sort. After a short period of silence, he finally nodded in reply.

"See?" Shisui exclaimed. "Now can I please go and retrieve another salve for you?"

Itachi fixated his cousin and best friend with eyes full of amusement. Not long after, he relented with a nod of his head. "Alright."

Shisui dashed off as soon as he'd heard Itachi's permission, leaving a trail of dust behind him. With a faint smile on his lips, Itachi continued to observe the other genins, all the while nodding along to whatever else his father was reminding him about. By the time Shisui had returned and had deposited several tins of the minty medical balm in Itachi's hands, the exam proctor had finally arrived.

A while later, the conditions of the second exam had been explained and each genin team had received a scroll. After some final reminders from both Fugaku and Shisui and after placating them one last time, Itachi pocketed his own scroll and stepped past the threshold of the testing grounds.

Not wanting to dawdle around too much, Itachi beelined towards the center of the forest. As he leapt through the treetops, he began to admire his surroundings. It had been so long since he'd last visited the Forty-Fourth Training Grounds, and he couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic.

Save for the faint rustles of leaves and the whispers of the wind, everything around him was dark, dreary, and deathly still. Every now and then, he would sense the presence of numerous deadly beasts, though none of them dared to prey after him. Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to catch up to him.

By the time Itachi had reached the center of the vast forest where a red tower stood tall and proud, only half an hour had passed. He settled on top of a particularly large tree a distance away from the imposing building and pulled out a novel from his pack. Sakura had recommended it to him a few weeks back, and he figured now was a good time to begin reading it.

It would be a long while until his competitors would reach the center, after all.

In his past life, he'd broken records by completing the test in almost six hours. This time, he would complete the test in under two hours.

He generally disliked drawing attention to himself, but he supposed drawing a little bit this time around would be acceptable. If he wanted to get into ANBU, he would have to catch the sole attention of one Shimura Danzo first and foremost.

And so an hour had passed, with his mind occasionally drifting to his lovely roseate friend here and there while he read. Just from the first few chapters alone, he could see why she enjoyed this novel. He couldn't help but also think that it was very her—full of witty humor and bright positivity, coupled with a little bit of drama.

Sensing multiple presences approaching the tower at a steady rate, Itachi closed his novel and tucked it inside his pack, making a mental note to continue reading later. Standing back up on his feet, he moved to stretch his limbs, all the while stifling a yawn. As comfortable as he'd been, he didn't wish to stay any longer in this drabby forest, much less hang around the tower until the survival game concluded in five days.

He had plans after all, and one of them included an evening rendezvous with the roseate girl that had been stuck on his mind lately.

Once he'd gotten rid of the kinks that came from staying in one position for too long, Itachi waited a few more minutes before descending off of the branch. Not long after, he landed on solid ground… and right in front of two teams of startled Kiri genins.

They instantly recoiled a distance away from him and lowered into crouches, ready to attack him at any time. Itachi's eyes swept across the figures of one team, landing on one kunoichi that stood behind her two cellmates. Clutched tightly in her hands was a scroll—the Heaven scroll. A light frown crested his features before he continued to glance over the rest of them, eventually spotting an Earth scroll peeking out from the last Kiri nin's pack.

Catching Itachi's pointed gaze, the Kiri nin flinched and moved to cover his pack. "You," The boy started cautiously. "What scroll do you have?"

Itachi kept his eyes fixated on the boy for a short moment before pulling out the scroll in his possession. "Heaven," He replied coolly.

The boy and his two teammates stiffened at his reply, their eyes narrowing down on him with calculative hostility, watching him stash his scroll away in his pack like hawks on their prey.

"Yanma, you were right!" Called the girl with the Heaven scroll. She and her teammates were also eyeing Itachi with wariness. "Heading towards the tower to ambush other teams was a great idea!"

The boy with the Earth scroll, Yanma, nodded. "Aa," He replied tersely, his hand slowly reaching for his holster. "We'll grab the Heaven scroll from this brat first. Then we'll wait around for the next team to get your Earth scroll."

Despite the impassiveness in Yanma's voice, the self-pride that flashed in his eyes told Itachi that the boy was more than happy to find that the result of his plan was beginning to be fruitful.

What Yanma and his comrades didn't know was that the relaxed raven-haired boy before them had already beaten them to the punch, having patiently waited to ambush his own prey for the past hour.

Obsidian faded into crimson as he continued to regard the Kiri nins with his Sharingan, waiting for the moment they would move against him. Threatening silence fell upon them, until the standstill was eventually broken off when Yanma disappeared out of sight. Not long after, the other five Kiri nins had also vanished.

Itachi swiftly pulled a kunai out of his holster to block a blade coming down at his front. He disarmed the nin at the end of the blade before leaping to kick his foe back. He watched as the boy collided with his teammate from the corner of his eye before vaulting upwards to dodge a joint attack from the kunoichi and her team.

He landed on a tree branch a distance away, all the while maintaining his eye contact with them. The kunoichi and her cellmates began to move towards him, only to halt after getting a few steps in. An instant later they began to attack each other, spurned by the genjutsu that he'd casted on them.

"You damn brat!" Yanma growled from above him.

Itachi dropped against the surface of the branch, dodging the swipe that was aimed at his head. Yanma landed next to him and before he could strike again, Itachi propped himself up and kicked upwards. Once Itachi had straightened and once Yanma had recovered from the blow to his chin, the two began to exchange blows at each other, the clashing of their kunais ringing here and there.

As they skirmished with each other, Yanma began to realize that he was becoming haggard, while Itachi didn't seem to be breaking much of a sweat. Rage boiled in the pits of his stomach at the notion of losing to a boy younger than him, and he cursed under his breath. The more angry he became, the more frenzied his attacks were.

A slight frown graced Itachi's features as he continued to expertly dodge and counter the Kiri nin's relentless advances. After finding an opening, Itachi delivered a series of kicks before vaulting away to form the seals to a familiar jutsu.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

Touching down on another treetop, he watched as the massive inferno burned everything in its path, the roars of the flames swallowing Yanma's strangled cries. Not long after the fireball extinguished itself, Yanma's charred body toppled over and crashed onto the cold hard terrain.

Itachi left his perch and reappeared next to Yanma's body. Once it was clear that the Kiri nin was dead, Itachi knelt beside him and began to rummage through his pack in search of the Earth scroll. After successfully securing it, he straightened and pocketed it away.

Giving Yanma's corpse one last look, he turned to leave in the direction of the central tower, intent on finishing the exam. However, before he could completely veer away, a faint wisp of black smoke appeared from the corner of his eyes. Itachi stilled in his steps, his obsidian eyes instantly snapping back to Yanma's corpse, where the eerie vapor had originated from.

But nothing was there.

It had disappeared as fast as it had come.

The corners of Itachi's lips downturned as he eyed the charred remains in wondering silence, waiting to see if the sooty miasma would return. He highly doubted that he had hallucinated. His eyesight was most definitely not deteriorating too.

However, after several minutes of observation, the wisps of dark vapor never appeared again.

A silent sigh escaped Itachi. Quickly dismissing it as a rare phenomenon from his fireball jutsu, he turned on his heels again and made his way towards the tower.

A/N: Hulloo!

Thanks again everyone so, so much for favoriting/alerting this story, and for sending me so many kind and supportive messages! I appreciate every single one of you and I'm so glad you guys enjoy my writing.

More Uchiha family bonding! Fugaku's eyes have now been completely opened and I can't wait to see how I will develop him and the rest of the clan in future chapters. Tsundere!Fugaku is honestly so fun to write too LOL especially coupled with Shisui. I got a good kick out of it, and I hope you guys did too!

Smol Naruto is the goodest boy who tries really, really hard! I would fight a tree for him and you're all welcome to join me. Must protect our precious sunshine boy at all costs!

On another note, fights are always a little difficult to write. I don't like to dwell too much on fight scenes since they can drag and get boring really easily. I think I did a good job though? LOL!

This chapter is also more Itachi focused, especially considering the events that will be happening soon in the upcoming chapters. Nonetheless, I hope this chapter has kept you guys on your toes, just like how you've been keeping me on mine with your theories!

But now I wonder if your theories have changed now? Hehe. If so, please let me know!

Once again, thanks for reading and do let me know how this chapter made you feel!

See you next chapter!

R&R!