It was not as though they had never considered the possibility.
But when they actually heard that Mikoto Uchiha and Rin Nohara were still alive in this world, the minds of Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, and Obito Uchiha went blank for a moment.
The entire Uchiha Clan was alive and well?
Disbelief and shock appeared on Itachi's face.
The memories of those who had originally belonged to this world had been rewritten the instant the members of Team Minato and Team Kakashi returned from the Warring States Period.
Although his mind now held a set of memories so wonderful they hardly seemed real, Itachi Uchiha had already given up on himself. He could not believe that heaven would truly bestow such a blessing upon a sinner like him.
Just then, a voice none of the others recognized came from outside the Hatake ancestral home.
"Kakashi? Why does your house look different?"
It was the voice of a young man. Sasuke found it vaguely familiar. It seemed to be...
Itachi Uchiha's eyes widened.
That voice...
"Shisui?!!"
The moment Itachi said that name, Sasuke Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha, Obito Uchiha, and the others froze.
That voice belonged to Shisui Uchiha, the former young genius of the Uchiha Clan!
While they were still reeling from the shock, Shisui's voice came from outside again.
"Is Itachi here? I was passing by, so I thought I'd take him home with me."
Everyone turned to look at Itachi Uchiha.
Naruto was far too honest for his own good. He immediately asked, "Isn't Kakashi-sensei's ancestral home outside Konoha, and pretty far away too? How could this possibly be on his way?"
Itachi Uchiha: "..."
Itachi's Akatsuki colleagues: "..."
Sasuke Uchiha: "..."
Adult Kakashi reacted quickly, using the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of Shisui before anyone else.
"Hey, Shisui."
Shisui Uchiha looked Adult Kakashi up and down, taking in his full jōnin uniform.
"Kakashi, you..."
"Oh! Right."
In most people's memories, Kakashi should have been wearing the uniform of Konoha's ANBU.
Just as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura began wondering whether Kakashi could still be their sensei, Shisui paused and continued.
"Kakashi, did you swap clothes with Obito again?"
Every gaze that had been fixed on Itachi Uchiha immediately shifted to Obito Uchiha.
Adult Obito stared back at them with dead eyes. Konoha had countless ANBU members and jōnin. Why did Kakashi wearing a jōnin uniform automatically mean the two of them had been playing dress-up?
Fortunately, Kakashi Hatake was still Kakashi Hatake. His ability to think on his feet remained as sharp as ever.
"I was on an ANBU mission and got blood on my clothes, so I came back to change."
Shisui Uchiha immediately accepted his explanation. His expression grew more serious when he heard that it had been a mission.
"Thanks for looking after Itachi. Was he injured?"
Inside the Hatake residence, Fugaku Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha immediately pricked up their ears. No matter how they heard it, Shisui Uchiha's words grated on them.
"Thanks for looking after Itachi"? Who are you to say something like that? I really want to burn someone with Amaterasu right now!!!
"No," Adult Kakashi replied. "But this mission is rather complicated. Fourth Hokage-sama is here as well, and we still need to hold a strategy meeting."
The implication was obvious. Shisui could go home first.
"Oh. Then I'll wait here."
Was Shisui Uchiha really the type to be so shamelessly persistent?!
Sasuke's face twisted with anger. He had once hoped that Shisui Uchiha might be revived, but he also knew that many of the things his brother had done over the years were connected to Shisui Uchiha's final request.
He even suspected that Shisui Uchiha might have unintentionally used Kotoamatsukami on his brother, causing him to commit such extreme acts.
Whatever the truth was, Sasuke's favorability toward Shisui Uchiha plummeted like an elevator to negative floor eighty. He could not stand the man at all.
Seeing Sasuke puffing up in anger, Itachi could only smile helplessly.
"Let's end our discussion here for today."
Minato Namikaze glanced outside and saw that it was already getting late.
"We still need to gather more information about this world while doing our best to adapt to our new circumstances. We'll also need to provide Konoha with reasonable explanations for the identities of the First Hokage, the Second Hokage, and the rest of you, so everyone can move freely through Konoha afterward."
Those who needed new identities, or rather, plausible reasons for their existence, mainly included First Hokage Hashirama Senju, Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, Izuna Uchiha, Butsuma Senju, Tajima Uchiha, Indra Ōtsutsuki, Ashura Ōtsutsuki, Hamura Ōtsutsuki, and the others.
"Then what are we supposed to do?"
In Deidara's other set of memories, he was still a ninja of Iwagakure.
Kisame Hoshigaki said, "I don't really care. In my other memories, I'm still a member of Akatsuki. My partner is Jūzō Biwa, though, right? He should be in Amegakure now."
At the mention of Jūzō Biwa, Itachi Uchiha lowered his eyes slightly.
"He was killed by the Fourth Mizukage while trying to save me. Please treat him well as your partner, if you can."
Kisame Hoshigaki bared a mouthful of shark-like teeth. "I think I'm rather friendly to everyone, but it's rare for Itachi-san to ask someone for a favor."
Itachi nodded. After spending several years as Kisame's partner, he knew exactly what kind of person Kisame was.
Fourth Hokage Minato said, "The members of Akatsuki may continue staying here for the time being. Think carefully about whether you wish to clear your status as Missing-nin and return to your respective villages, or remain members of Akatsuki and continue working toward peace in the Ninja World."
"World peace?!"
Hidan could not stand the very idea.
"Are you serious?! World peace?! Should I grab a cup and toast to it with all of you?! Aaaah! I'm not doing that! Kakuzu, you can't possibly accept this kind of setup either, right? Right?! Right?!!"
Although the other Akatsuki members were not as loud as Hidan, most of them shared his irritation. They had grown accustomed to living freely, without restraint, and devoting themselves to Akatsuki's ideals.
"I don't trust anything. The only thing worth trusting is money," Kakuzu declared. "No matter what happens, I will always be a Missing-nin of Takigakure."
After calming down, Hidan followed Kakuzu's lead. "I don't plan on going back to the Land of Hot Water either. That place is far too boring."
Deidara looked at Sasori of the Red Sand.
"What about you, Sasori? Are you going back to Sunagakure? Hmm."
Sasori glanced at him. "In my new memories, I'm still a Missing-nin from Sunagakure."
Who would want to go back and listen to that damned old woman lecture them?
Deidara hesitated for a second before deciding to keep following Sasori.
Nagato had yet to process the series of sudden changes, much less figure out how he was supposed to face Yahiko afterward.
In Yahiko's memories, they had spent all these years working to develop Amegakure and bring peace to the world. Yet in Nagato and Konan's memories, they had acted under the name Pain and spread their anger and suffering throughout the entire Ninja World.
The Akatsuki still needed time to decide on their next course of action and determine what their current S-rank Missing-nin should do.
Naruto looked at Haku and Zabuza, whom they had first brought back from the Land of Waves, and worried that they might have nowhere to go.
"Haku and I will return to Kirigakure," Zabuza said.
Haku explained, "In the new memories Zabuza and I possess, Fourth Mizukage-sama was never controlled. He has also been working to reform the policies once implemented by the Third Mizukage. Kirigakure should no longer be the Village of the Bloody Mist. Zabuza and I are trusted subordinates of Fourth Mizukage-sama, so we need to return and help him continue rebuilding Kirigakure."
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura remembered why Haku and Zabuza had become Missing-nin and left Kirigakure in the original world.
Their attempted coup against the Fourth Mizukage had failed. They had launched it because they opposed the growing tyranny of Yagura Karatachi, who had been manipulated by the Masked Man.
Now the entire world had changed beyond recognition.
Haku and Zabuza were no longer Missing-nin. They had become the Fourth Mizukage's trusted confidants and capable subordinates.
Adult Obito asked, "You're leaving already?"
Zabuza refused to acknowledge him. After all, in the original world, this man had been the Masked Man who controlled Yagura Karatachi.
Haku replied politely, "We'll probably leave within the next day or two."
Fourth Hokage Minato nodded. "Should any new information or unusual changes arise, we can keep in contact by letter."
"The only unfinished mission scrolls left belong to Naruto, Obito, and Kabuto, correct?"
Young Obito's mission had been completed through a fortunate coincidence, while Adult Obito still had no leads regarding his own.
The three of them took out their mission scrolls and unfolded them.
Naruto
[Mission Rank: SSS-rank]
[Mission Details: Rescue the Masked Man.]
Adult Obito
[Mission Rank: SSS-rank]
[Mission Details: Prevent the Fourth Shinobi World War.]
Kabuto Yakushi
[Mission Rank: SSS-rank]
[Mission Details: Use the Edo Tensei Reincarnation technique to benefit the Ninja World and hold a Ninja Family Reunion.]
These missions all seemed to point toward the same place...
The Fourth Shinobi World War!
"Naruto and Obito's smaller missions have already been cleared." Fourth Hokage Minato looked at Kabuto Yakushi.
Kabuto pushed up his large, round glasses, which flashed with a shrewd gleam.
"My A-rank mission, learning the Edo Tensei Reincarnation technique, is still in progress. After considering it alongside this SSS-rank mission, I concluded that if we truly travel to the future during the Fourth Shinobi World War, an ordinary Edo Tensei Reincarnation technique will not be enough to contend with that world's version of me. He possesses Ryūchi Cave Senjutsu, all of Orochimaru-sama's ninjutsu and techniques, and an Edo Tensei army created from White Zetsu."
That was indeed true.
"Therefore, following Second Hokage-sama's advice, I need to learn more advanced techniques while mastering the Edo Tensei Reincarnation technique. That way, I can catch my future self off guard and seize control of his Edo Tensei Reincarnation."
"That is the right approach," Minato Namikaze said. "Have you found a direction for your research?"
"More or less. It should take no more than a few days to complete."
While they were talking, another group arrived at the Hatake ancestral home because of conflicts between their two sets of memories.
They were Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yūhi, Genma Shiranui, Might Guy, Raidō Namiashi, Aoba Yamashiro, Hayate Gekkō, Ebisu, and several others who had been part of the same generation as Obito and Kakashi.
Shisui Uchiha froze for a moment at the sight of such a large group, then greeted them politely.
"Hey. Are all of you here to see Kakashi?"
Kurenai Yūhi, Asuma Sarutobi, and the others exchanged looks. They stared at him as though they had seen a ghost.
"What's wrong?" Shisui Uchiha asked with a smile. "Why do you all look so shocked? Did you see a ghost?"
"...Yeah, I think we did."
"We really did see a ghost."
Shisui: Where's the ghost?
Asuma: Aren't you the ghost?
***
…
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (100 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.
***