Naruto: Path of Uchiha

Chapter 24: The Unanticipated Occurs

Team 7 along with Neji make their way back to the village.

Their first stop is the Hokage's office to give a report of their mission.

'Hokage-sama', Kakashi greets him as they enter.

'Oh, you're all back. Report?', Obito says, his face unusually pale.

'When we reached the sound village, it was completely demolished. There we encountered the reanimation of the second Hokage. It was tough, but we managed to seal him. Then we visited the abandoned hideout of Orochimaru and found this', Kakashi explains, handing over the previously found document to Obito.

'Well done, you all', Obito says, clearly surprised. 'War?', he adds, his eyes scanning the document.

'What should we do about it?' Kakashi asks.

'We should get prepared for it', Sasuke says.

'Yeah, definitely, it's going to be tough', Hinata agrees.

'There's no way the village can handle it though', Neji says.

'Then we should form an alliance with all the villages', Naruto states.

'Excellent ideas everyone. But we can't be sure at all. This could be another trick, a stupid play to lure us out. If we believe it instantly, I would say it will bring more harm than good'. Obito says, his fingers rubbing his temple.

'That could be true', Neji agrees.

Obito then looks up; he looks different, very tensed. 'Hinata, Neji. Great work on the mission. I am sorry, but could you both excuse us for a moment? I have something to discuss with the others'.

'Yes, Hokage-sama', both of them immediately leave without complaint.

Hinata pats Naruto's back on her way out.

'What's it?', Kakashi asks, his voice lacking the formality that was seen before.

Currently they are not the Hokage and Shinobi, but brothers.

'Itachi...he's no more', says Obito, his eyes focused on the table beneath him.
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Naruto's POV

It felt like the ground shook before me. My fingers started trembling. I tried to say something, but nothing came out.

'Naruto...'

'There's no way', Kakashi Nii-san says, the first to break the silence.

'He got sick right after you all left. He couldn't hold it anymore; it happened last night. No one except the Uchiha's and the Sanins knows', Obito Nii-san says.

Beside me, Sasuke's knees gave out. He was about to fall to the ground, but Kakashi Nii-san caught him before he could.

I refuse to believe it. This must be a prank. I couldn't lose another person.

It seems I said it out loud.

'It's not Naruto. It just happened so... suddenly', he says.

Just then, Sasuke ran out of the office. Kakashi Nii-san and I were about to go after him.

'Wait', Obito Nii-san says, making Kakashi Nii-san stop in his tracks.

But I couldn't care less; I ran after Sasuke.

***

I went straight to the Hokage monument, knowing that's where Sasuke probably is.

On my way, I scout through the village for any hint of the chakra of Itachi Nii-san. I find none.

I go over to Sasuke, who's sitting on the Hokage monument, just like I expected.

He is sitting with his knees hugging him, his face buried in them.

'Sasuke', I call out.

'Go away', he says, startling me.

'You know I won't', I say, tears threatening to spill out.

'Just go away! I don't want to talk right now', he replies. I can tell he's holding out his sobs.

'I won't, Sasuke', I repeat my words.

He then finally looks up at me, his eyes swollen, his face wet.

At first glance, he looks shocked. Probably guessing how I am not crying, or worse, sobbing.

I decided not to until I could console him; he is always there for me. When Ji-chan died, when I got injured. Now's my turn to be there for him. So I decided I wouldn't cry, not yet.

'How can he die so early? I can't accept it, Naruto! Yesterday, we were just on our way back! I was so excited to have lunch with all of them! But now I get here, and he's gone. I love him, Naruto; he's my older brother! How can he just go away', Sasuke screams. I don't stop him.

I go towards him, my hand reaching out; it trembles for a moment. I hide it quickly.

He smacks my hand away. 'You are not even going to cry? Did he mean anything to you at all? Oh right, how could he? He is not even your actual brother! So please! Go away! Let me cry in peace! Let me mourn him!',

'Sasuke', I say again, my voice coming out as a plead.

'You're not going to leave?! Fine. Stay here. I am going to go. Don't you dare come after me', he says, standing up and leaving, not bothering to look back.

I let myself break down.

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Hours passed by. Naruto remains on the monuments. Kurama tried countless times to console him, but none succeeded.

At some point, Naruto feels Kakashi come by. He sits next to him.

'Hey', he says.

Naruto doesn't reply.

'Obito went over to Sasuke. He's locked up in his room', Kakashi adds.

'Did you and Sasuke get into a fight?', he questions.

Finally, Naruto looks up. 'That doesn't matter right now,' he says.

'I know. Still, you want to talk?', Kakashi asks.

'I tried. I wanted to be the bigger person. I thought not breaking in front of him would make him feel better. The opposite happened. He thinks I don't care', Naruto says, his voice rough from all the crying.

'He doesn't mean that, Naruto. The adrenaline probably got to him', Kakashi tries his best to console the blonde.

'I should've given him space. I pushed hard', Naruto sighs. 'It's just... I am still in so much denial. I just feel so lost', he adds.

'That's normal. You should come back home. It's better to grieve with everyone rather than isolating yourself', Kakashi says, standing up.

'We will be waiting for you', Kakashi ruffles Naruto's hair, making his way down the monument.

After he departs, Naruto releases a long sigh.

'I should go back', he thinks to himself.

***

Naruto's POV

I reach home, the atmosphere tense and eerily quiet.

The first thing I notice is Mama and Papa sitting at the table.

I remember that I haven't seen them in a while.

They notice me as well.

Their faces immediately showcasing guilt, or rather it's sadness. It's probably the latter.

They are the ones to come towards me. Enveloping me in a hug right away.

'I miss him' is the only thing I can say.
'Us too, Naruto', they reply, both rubbing my back in assurance.

Whether it's to calm me down or themselves, I don't know.

I start to make my way to Sasuke's room. I remember sharing rooms with him at one point, and we have grown out of it. But then I recall that I should do something first.

'Thanks Kurama',
'For what?'
'For being there for me.'

After feeling somewhat content, I resumed my earlier task.

I spot Sasuke along with Kakashi and Obito Nii-san. Seeing this, the absence of Itachi Nii-san begins to finally sink in.

Noticing me, Sasuke immediately stands up.

I don't know whether it's to hit me or to...

He hugs me.

For me and the people I love, hugs are a way of saying either I love you or I am sorry or I missed you.

This hug felt like the combination of all three.

'I'm sorry, Naruto. I shouldn't have said that. I just messed up. I'm sorry. I... I should've realized you were trying to comfort me', he says, letting go of the hug.

'I'm sorry too. I should have given you space. I shouldn't have pushed you to talk about it. I shouldn't have hidden my emotions in front of you', I say, wiping my tears that have emerged.

Sasuke does the same.

I then look behind Sasuke to see Kakashi and Obito Nii-san indicating us to join them.

We do.

And we spend the rest of the night missing Itachi Nii-san and remembering him.
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The following week, Sasuke and I meet Hinata and Shikamaru, who have been requesting to see us after our sudden disappearance.

'We heard what happened', says Hinata.

'Yeah, it's all over the village', Shikamaru says.

'Are you two alright?' Hinata asks.

'Yeah, we are managing', Sasuke replies, his voice soft.

'How did it happen?', Shikamaru, the one's to ask.

'Chakra disease, it just happened so suddenly', Naruto answers.

'We're here if any of you need to talk', Hinata says, passing the boys a sad smile.

'We know', Naruto returns the smile.

Sasuke hums in agreement.

The conversation between the four best friends was short. Naruto and Sasuke not having the energy to chat more. Wanting them both to rest, Hinata and Shikamaru left after giving them the short-lived company.

'It just feels wrong', Naruto is the first to speak up.

'What?', Sasuke asks, clearly confused.

'I have to go somewhere. Tell Mama to not wait for me for dinner', Naruto says, standing up to leave.

'Wait. Where are you-', Sasuke begins to say, but Naruto had already left.

***

Naruto is on the lookout for something. He first looks out for Jiraiya. Weirdly, the last Naruto saw him was during Itachi's funeral. The funeral was kept private, with only close friends and family.

He goes to where Jiraiya has been staying, finding him immersed in paperwork. That's unlike him, thinks Naruto.

'Jiraiya-sama', says Naruto.

'Oh Naruto!', Jiraiya looks up, quickly putting his paperwork to the side.

Way too quickly, that it can be considered suspicious.

'What's that you are working on', Naruto asks, pointing to the paperwork laying on the side.

'Oh, that's nothing; some village stuff, that's all', Jiraiya says rather hastily.

Naruto begins to inquire further, but just then Tsunade comes in. 'Jiraiya did you-', she begins to say, but stops noticing Naruto there as well.

That's extra suspicious, thinks Naruto.

'Umm, I have to go', Naruto says, leaving.

The Sanin begin to stop him, but he has already left.
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That was weird. They're definitely hiding something. Something that everyone knows in the family except for me and Sasuke.

'I feel it too'
'Can you pinpoint what it is?'
'Not sure, but I think it's regarding Itachi',

Itachi Nii-san. Naruto has been mourning him. But a part of him thinks his death was staged.

To prove him right, Naruto needs evidence. So for now, Naruto heads home.

***

It's in the middle of the night. Naruto has snuck out of his home and now is on his way to the Hokage's office.

He reaches there, finding several guards.

Naruto was already excellent at hiding himself since he was a child.

Having this talent in his hands, Naruto managed to sneak into the Hokage's office.

He rummages through the papers and finds the document he was looking for.

What's inside the document shocks him to his core.
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Naruto's POV

Inside the document, I find something unbelievable.

The first thing I do is run back home.

'What did you find? I was resting',
'You can tune in when I tell Sasuke'.

The second thing I do is wake Sasuke up.

'Whatever it is, it better be worth waking me up during this ungodly hour', Sasuke says, rubbing his eyes.

'Itachi Nii-san is not dead. His death was staged. Apparently, news got to the village that Orochimaru was planning a war before we got here. So they planned this atrocity. Itachi Nii-san has gone as a spy to work under Orochimaru, providing intel to the village until he declares war'. I say it all in one breath.

It leaves me breathing heavily.

'What the heck', Sasuke says, handing me a glass of water.

'Who else knows?' he asks.

'I am assuming Mama Papa, Obito Nii-san, and Kakashi Nii-san, and the two Sanins', I reply.

'We have got to confront them', he says.

'Oh, we will', I reply.

***

The next day, I called for a meeting with everyone who I assumed knew the secret.

Currently, we are all sitting at the huge table.

Seeing the people present, I am sure everyone knows what I am going to say.

'Nii-san is not dead. I know everything', I say, breaking the silence.

Papa sighs at my comment. 'I told you they would've figured it out', he says to Obito Nii-san.

'I knew it too. I just didn't know it would happen so quickly', he replies.

'Wait wait. Why did you both agree with them? You guys could've told them they are wrong', Jiraiya-sama says.

'Oh, come on, like they would have believed us', Mama says, giving him a look that says, 'Are you serious?'.

'I am sure they have found solid proof as well', Tsunade-sama says.

'How did you figure it out?' Kakashi Nii-san asks.

I look to Sasuke, my eyes telling him to be the one to explain.

He sighs, then begins explaining, 'Well. Naruto deemed something was wrong. He went to visit Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama; their lack of ability to act further supported his suspicions. To confirm it, he snuck into Nii-san's office. He snuck out the document that revealed everything. He came back home and told me. That's how'.

'Oh'
'Wow'
came some remarks.

'You snuck into my office? That's wrong', Obito Nii-san says, offended by the fact someone managed to sneak in.

'And you telling us lies wasn't wrong?', I strike back.

This shut everyone up.

'How did you figure out it was only us that knew?', Jiraiya-sama asks.

'It's only natural for Mama, Papa, and Obito Nii-san to know. I figured out that Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama knew during my encounter with them. As for Kakashi Nii-san, he is the one who drafted the document I read. So I assume he got to know when I ran after Sasuke, leaving him with Obito Nii-san', I reply.

'That's Naruto for you', Mama says.

Despite the situation, it makes me smile.

'Okay. You both know now. But. From now on, no one can know without my permission', Obito Nii-san orders, his Hokage-ness kicking in.

'Alright, we get it', Sasuke says.

'Not even Hinata and Shikamaru', Kakashi Nii-san warns.

Sasuke and I nod solemnly.

'Being such a simp, it might be hard for you to keep it from Hinata'
'Oh, don't worry, I will keep my mouth zipped',

What matters now is that Itachi Nii-san is alive, and we can also say that he is somewhat safe.

I look over to Sasuke; I am sure he shares my thoughts.
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Author: AAH Thank you so much for 2K views!! Words can't describe how thankful I am <33 Let's keep aiming higher!! ^-^