A life that I will change Book 1-3

"What would we show the little ones so that they would remember us for a long time and try to surpass us?" Shisui smiled back and said thoughtfully.

Sasuke, Kazuki, and Yumiko heard his words and started talking with anticipation.

Part 1. Chapter 2. Two Brothers

"Hello, are you Uzumaki Naruto? You're in the same class as my brother, aren't you, Sasuke?" Itachi looked at the "object" of his new assignment with interest.

The blond-haired boy was thin, small and did not look like his almost eight years. And you can't say that such a little thing can contain the main weapon of the village — the nine-tailed fox demon Kyubi no Yoko.

"Y-yes..." The boy took a step back, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Are you skipping The Academy?" Itachi asked.

Naruto blushed and looked away with his bright blue eyes.

"It's just... it's... me... Iruka-sensei... They all..."

"I see" Itachi nodded.

He didn't understand why many Shinobi hated this boy. Biju the fox, who destroyed part of the village about eight years ago, managed to imprison this child. In fact, Naruto was Konoha's savior, his parents sacrificed their lives to seal the Kyubi.

Itachi was five and a half years old, but he remembered the red-haired, smiling woman his mother was friends with. And how the three of them, together with little Sasuke, came to the hospital after the attack of the nine-tails. Mikoto-kaa-san was looking at a sleeping baby with a yellow chicken crest. Itachi was sitting in the hallway with Sasuke at the time and hardly heard anything, but his mother came out of the office of the head of the hospital very upset. It seemed to him that Mikoto-kaa-san wanted to take Naruto to them, but she wasn't allowed to.

Naruto was despised, shunned, or, at best, ignored. The first Hokage created Konoha so that the children in it would be happy. But this boy is clearly unhappy. Itachi thought that, probably, everything would have been different for Naruto if at one time his mother had still been able to take this chicken into their family.

"I saw you near the Academy. Are you an Uchiha?" The man asked him not very politely.

"Yes, my name is Uchiha Itachi," he introduced himself.

You should go to the Academy after all. To grow strong, you need to study and train a lot.

"They... don't want to teach me anything," Naruto muttered. "They just laugh and mock. Also, I don't have... a good weapon. Only the broken shurikens with the center of gravity knocked down, which I found at the training ground," The boy whispered very softly, lowering his head and hiding his eyes behind his long, unevenly cropped bangs.

Itachi took out four shurikens from his bag and strung them on a child's finger. Practice," with these words, he jumped up and disappeared into the dense foliage of a nearby tree, putting on his mask and easily discovering the one he had come to replace.

"Dog-san," Sparrow greeted softly. Itachi nodded and indicated that he was taking over the shift.

Watching Naruto wander through the village, kicking pebbles, Itachi thought again about yesterday's conversation with Shisui, who, after sending their younger ones home, detained him at the training ground, offering training. A few punches, and Itachi was trapped in the illusion again.

"You know that I was ordered to keep an eye on you a year ago, right? The clan suspects you of playing a double game.... And lately, you've been acting especially strange," Shisui, who was frozen in front of him, sighed. "Despite the fact that I also work for the ANBU, they don't trust me as much as they trust you. But our beliefs are very similar. I guess I'm not playing my role well, so Danzo-sama suspects me."

"There's a lot of suspicion all around. Instead of paying attention to external enemies, we dig into our own dirty laundry." Itachi tried to say it evenly, but he didn't know that Shisui was suspected.

It was as if they were always on opposite sides of the barricades that the clan and the village had built between them. And sometimes Itachi didn't understand if it was possible to trust his brother at all, recognizing his right not to trust him. Just because both of them— Uchiha — are part of the cursed clan. Spying on each other, trying to outdo each other. Friendship and rivalry. Where was the real thing and where was the pretense? Or maybe, having plunged into the filth of the ANBU work since the age of eleven, it all seems to him? It's not for nothing that the Shinobi of their clan are called masters of illusions.

"I have a feeling there's not much left. It's like a taut string that's about to snap. And I still don't know what to do. There are innocent people in our clan. Do you agree?"

Itachi squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth. The older brother was right. He was thinking the same thing himself. If this abscess opens, no one will be spared. The old cripple hated their clan with all his vile black soul and sincerely believed that Konoha would be better off without Uchiha. No matter how attached Itachi was to the village, no matter how much he wanted to stop the massive bloodshed, he loved his younger brother even more. He was willing to do a lot for Sasuke, and Danzo deftly manipulated this weakness of his. But he's no match for the elders and the head of the Root. Not now. Except with his brother...

"Checks and rechecks," Itachi chuckled, deciding to be frank. "The clan... the clan is rotten... All these political games and monthly meetings... They just want to start a war to be in charge of the village.... Konoha was created so that clan and ordinary Shinobi could live peacefully and coexist together. And the war... When a brother goes after a brother..."

Shisui just nodded. He smiled as if he saw something important for himself. However, maybe he did, it's his genjutsu, and it's impossible to dodge or tell a lie in it. Itachi smiled to himself. After all, he could always count on his older brother, who had been an example to him all his life and shared his views. He stopped his chakra flow and broke out of the technique. The whole conversation took a split second. They fought hand-to-hand in silence for another ten minutes, and then went home.

At parting, Shisui said that he had been assigned a two-week mission to guard the border of the Land of Fire in the east. The Land of Water and the village of Hidden Mist stirred.

After that, Itachi analyzed this conversation for a long time, his brother's inhales and exhales, hidden and explicit meanings, threats, hints and semitones.

Can his trust Shisui?

And then there was the simple answer -yes. Otherwise, they're all doomed.

Despite everything, the brother is considered one of the strongest Shinobi of their clan. Many opponents, upon hearing that Shunshin Shisui was opposing them, fled in fear, trying to save their lives.

Itachi always followed Shisui.

Should I trust you now? Yes. They'll have a chance to save someone.

His aniki hinted at Sasuke and his younger sister, possibly Kazuki. This boy is quite talented, even if he hasn't awakened his sharingan yet. However, Sasuke also couldn't boast of a clan dojutsu.

Today, Itachi was assigned covert surveillance of the Jinchuuriki, but was removed from surveillance of the Uchiha clan, which he did periodically between serious liquidation missions during the last two years of service at the ANBU.

Some kind of sign? Is this a "promotion" or a "downgrade"? Itachi didn't believe it was an accident. There are no accidents in this job.

Naruto reached a small clearing almost on the edge of Konoha, not far from their clan's quarter. Apparently, jinchuuriki had equipped her for training. For several more hours, the boy stubbornly threw the four shurikens he got at the crookedly chalked target on the tree.

Itachi thought again.

Shisui said he didn't know what to do yet, but there was less time. The unrest in the clan at the last meeting seems to have reached its peak. Probably, everything should definitely be resolved in the coming weeks. The cousin was sent on a mission, as if he was also suspended from the clan. Don't they trust him? Maybe that's the whole point. Something is clearly being prepared. From both the clan and the village leadership. Words about a taut string... Is your brother worried about his life? Can he be eliminated? The strongest Uchiha who is considered loyal to the clan... It's quite realistic.

In addition, the peculiarity of the Shisui sharingan is unusual for their clan....

Itachi raised his head up. Heavy clouds gathered over the village. It got dark abruptly, despite the fact that there was still one and a half standard hours before sunset. The air smelled of a thunderstorm. A bright branching lightning streaked across the sky above Mount Hokage.

His ward sat down under a tree, clutching blunted shurikens in his blood-soaked hands. Naruto's stomach rumbled loudly, but the boy, clenching his teeth, took a stained bandage from the pocket of his shorts and began to rewind his palms.

After bandaging, Naruto practiced for about forty more minutes under the downpour. Itachi admired such stubbornness and determination. The chalk circle was washed away, and in the dark, in the rain, without using a sharingan, almost nothing became visible. One by one, the shurikens were lost. Naruto still rummaged in the bushes, but did not find the weapon given to him, after which he trudged towards his house above the boiler station.

Looking through the window, Itachi was amazed at how dirty and untidy the young jinchuuriki's home was. There are practically "trodden paths" between empty bags and cans of custard noodles and milk cartons. A real dumpster. Naruto took off his wet clothes and, putting on a stained T-shirt and breeches that felt like they were fished out of a basket of dirty laundry, brewed himself a portion of noodles.

"Dog-san," a new kid from his unit interrupted Itachi's observation. I've come to relieve you.

"Yes," Itachi nodded, hardly taking his eyes off Naruto's joyful face, who was devouring a tiny portion of noodles from a cup with obvious pleasure and enjoyment.

* * *

"Itachi, you're not eating anything at all," His mother smiled shyly at him at the family breakfast.

For some reason, he thought about what Naruto Uzumaki was having for breakfast, and he couldn't get a bite down his throat. Yes, and this conversation with his brother and the analysis of the whole situation. Itachi looked into the eyes of the woman who gave him life, and clearly realized that he would have to take her life. Either he or the ANBU will do it. Moreover, the ANBU is not the worst of the scenarios. There is also a department of torture and interrogation. And then... a public execution, like traitors to the village with indelible shame.

"I don't feel like it," Itachi forced a smile.

"Nii-san," Sasuke said. "Will you practice with me today? Yesterday was so great. I practiced the throw you showed me all night yesterday!

"Sorry, Ototo, another time...."

There was a prearranged knock on the door, and when Itachi opened it, he saw his cousin on the threshold, who came in and bowed to his father.

"I'm being sent on a mission, Fugaku-dono...."

"Of course, Shisui-kun," my father, as the head of the clan, coordinated all the missions issued by the village, so there was nothing surprising in my brother's appearance.

But he had known about the mission yesterday, which meant that Shisui had come so that Itachi would understand that they should see each other alone as soon as possible. Perhaps he thought of something during the evening and night.

"I'm going to the eastern border with my team. For about two weeks. The Hokage's order."

"I hope you'll be back for the clan meeting." Fugaku asked.

Yes, I think it will be inevitable..." his brother smiled thoughtfully and sadly and, after a brief glance at Itachi, took his leave.

"I have to go to headquarters," after waiting ten minutes, Itachi put on his ANBU gear and slipped out of the house.

Shisui should be waiting for him at their agreed place, near Nakanogawa Bend.

Part 1. Chapter 3. Countdown

Looking into the raging river stream from the cliff from where he would fall, judging by the version of his future world that his "other self" had found in his own, Shisui calculated the current situation.

The future became more certain because the "second him" that night found a plot where he came from a mission, and most likely it was the same mission that he received before training with the kids.

A clash with the Hidden Fog Shinobi while guarding the border is quite possible, according to intelligence reports, they are planning some kind of sortie and a check of forces by combat. He'll be back in time for the clan meeting. And he could have asked the Hokage to try to avert trouble from the clan. Now that not only his future and the future of the clan have been revealed, but also the many conversations of the elders, there is no point in believing the Hokage.

As the pictures showed, Sarutobi likes to rake in the heat with someone else's hands. He has a Danzo, with whom the Third plays almost a feud in public, and when left alone, he whispers about "the good of Konoha." Of course, Shisui wasn't going to trust any hand-drawn stories one hundred percent, but based on this knowledge, he began to look in the right direction and began to notice things that he hadn't noticed before or didn't want to see. Despite the "all-seeing" sharingan, unfortunately, sometimes he was just hideously blind.

Shisui had always considered himself an honest man, and having been assigned to keep an eye on his brother, he did everything to show and encourage him to think about surveillance. Shinobi's job is generally dirty, but... Maybe he was too attracted to that dream world... Too perfect to be true... At least so that the same thing can be achieved in their reality.

According to his latest data, two hundred and five people lived in the clan's quarter. Sixty-eight of them are elite Shinobi serving in the Konoha police. One hundred and twenty-six people are genin-level Shinobi and civilians over the age of twelve. The remaining eleven are him, Itachi, Yumiko, Sasuke, Kazuki, and six other children between the ages of one and ten.

"Shii-kun," Itachi called out with a childish nickname as he approached their meeting place.

"Ichi-kun," Shisui teased his brother, smiling.

(*"Shii" can be translated as "chestnut", a childhood nickname because of the unruly "spiky" hair and its color. (While Shisui can be interpreted as a combination of the words "shi" — death and "sui" — water).

*"Ichi" can be translated as "the first", "striving for primacy".)

Itachi always wanted to be the first in everything, so the abbreviation of his name suited him very well.