Naruto: Legacy Undone

She laughs. Its a wheezy, shaky thing.

What will happen now?

She could have undone this whole thing, slaughtered the whole clan, kept Sasuke safe from the inevitable crossfire once everything explodes in just a few more days.

One dead clan, one missing nin for the world to hate and her brother would be safe.

He would hate her, but he would live in the village, cared for and protected as the last heir to the esteemed Uchiha. The commoners would give him favor by mere tragedy and Danzo, Homura, Koharu would back off. And if they didn't Sarutobi would make them. There would be no need to go after one lonely child and the Sandaime would see that.

He would be safe

She could live with that...

Now she couldn't be sure...

And for that, as grateful as she might have been to Naruto, that gratitude was eclipsed by anxiety and fear...

"Itachi."

Kakashi's voice, it snaps her out of her thoughts and the man is standing before her, one hand held out. "Give me the knife Itachi."

Its clenched in her grip, but the fight's been drained out of her already.

"I just...I just wanted to keep him safe."

"Keep who safe?"

"Sasuke."

"We'll keep him safe." The silver haired Jounin assured. "You have my word Itachi, no matter what happens with your clan or the Sandaime, Sasuke will be safe. I promise. Just give me your knife and we'll sit down and talk about things ok?"

Naruto watches from behind the copy ninja, tense and nervous, he senses other Anbu now, slips of chakra darting past his home to check other areas while others converge on the signature of the chief Jounin.

He sees something fall from the bottom of the mask to hit the floor.

It takes him a moment to realize its tears.

He wonders if it was the same for the Itachi he remembers. If the man, despite his stoic nature really was as aloof about the whole thing as he had seemed or if this decision had haunted and tormented him as it does the Itachi he knows as 'An-chan'

She's fourteen years old.

Naruto could barely pull himself through the grief of having lost his friends and family. And he's only barely managed with the knowledge that they're still there! That he could see them again.

If it wasn't for that he might not have held together at all.

As it is-he knows he's not ok in the strictest sense of the word.

And he certainly hadn't needed to kill all his friends and family like his Itachi had and this one plans to.

He could only imagine how...horrible this has to be for anyone placed in these shoes.

"I was going to kill them all?" She confessed.

"Who were you going to kill?"

"The Clan." She shrugged. "Two hundred and seventy six people. It would have been easy."

Her drawl was measured, bored. Like a book keeper discussing his ledger she was an assassin commenting on her tally.

"Most are chuunin in the police force, they stick to schedules and are in bed after a certain point. Those would be the second. First would have been the ones getting ready to start their shift...Once those two are out of the way, more cautiously deal deal with any late nighters, then the guards patrolling the perimeter, they wouldn't suspect me coming around late. I don't sleep well some times. The real fight would be the four Jounin...Sishui too. But they won't be expecting it. No one would be expecting it. For each I'd approach under the pretense of being summoned to the clan house. Wait for them to turn their back to get ready. To look away or walk ahead..."

She laughed "It would just be so...easy. That's the real thing...I could do it all in just a few hours. There would be no more coup. No future battles, no retribution from an enraged Konoha. No riots, no assassinations. They would be dead...I would be the killer and Sasuke would be the last tragic, most beloved heir.

"It doesn't have to be this way." Kakashi echoed Naruto's words, finally edging close enough to pull the knife from her slack hands.

Before he could fully pull it free she gripped it, looking up at him. "Just promise...promise me he'll be safe."

The older man nodded

Finally...she let go.

And as afraid of change or how much more complicated the already alternating paths of the future had become, how terrified he was of the misstep that would bring about his ultimate failure against the monster that was Tobi or about how, once all was said and done he might not even recognize the people he'd once called and still calls precious to him...

He couldn't help but feel good. For both his friends. Itachi and Sasuke who were just averted from their respective tragedies.

When it changed them...he only hoped it would be for the better.

-0-

"Ahh, Sarutobi-dono!" Koutou cried as he entered the common room.

The Sandaime bowed. "Magojiro-sam-"

"Ahh." The man bemoaned flailing his arms around. "No no. We're old friends aren't we?"

Then without preamble the Daimyo hugged him like he did the day he formally arrived.

Sarutobi awkwardly returned the gesture with one arm trapped between them.

Koutou pulled back smiling. "Drink?" He offered.

"No thank you, I came when I heard you had some form of request for me."

"Ahh yes." The Daimyo seemed to remember at the reminder, gesturing for Sarutobi to sit as he poured himself a bit of Sake.

With heavy robes of black and red, the Daimyo sat across from the white robed Sarutobi.

The younger man smiled congenially as he spoke. "After these events, something's become rather obvious to me."

"And that is?"

"I require a guard."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, leaning forward, "I assure you sir, your palace is well guarded by our forces at all time.

"Yes I know, you cycle through four teams of your jounin. Sixteen men on monthly assignments. I assigned those men to keep my children and wife safe. I need a personal guard.

"You had sixteen." Sarutobi points out. Sixteen Jounin was not a force to scoff at. And now the Daimyo was asking for more? "What exactly is preventing you from doing away with these as well."

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