Prologue

It was a cloudy night in Konohagakure and the wreckage of the Nine Tails' rampage was still being cleaned up when in a small hospital room a small cry rang out. A 9 year old child gently held a newlyborn infant, whispering quietly to him.

"Father, Mother, what's his name?" Shisui asked quietly, returning the baby. Wriggling a little at the discomfort of having to change his posture, the child fell asleep in his mother's arms.

"How about Satoru?" Shisui's father asked. "It's a complicated time right now. I hope Satoru will have the wisdom to keep himself safe from whatever challenges he will face."

Shisui's mother nodded, exhausted from the labour of childbirth, rocking Satoru gently in her arms. As he swayed side to side, Satoru's eyes opened briefly as he seemed to take in all of his surroundings with a calm and inquisitive gaze, different from the crying and chaos common in other infants.

Shisui smiled at his new younger brother, enjoying the rare moment of peace in the catastrophe of the Nine Tails Attack.

"Itachi's younger brother was born recently too wasn't he?" Shisui's father asked. "You must ask Itachi whether his parents would mind letting little Sasuke play with Satoru sometimes."

"That sounds like a great idea father. I'm sure both Satoru and Sasuke will enjoy having someone around their age to play with."

The conversation slowly drifted on as the family of four enjoyed the brief moment of peace. Shisui recounted the stories of his recent missions to his parents, making sure to assure them that he had been perfectly safe. The topic of the conversation gradually moved to his recent invitation to join the Anbu.

"Congratulations son. I'm proud of you." Shisui's father said emotionally. "Look at that, my own son, already a chunin and invited to join the Anbu. I can't wait to see the looks on those stuck up elders back at the clan."

"You make sure to stay safe okay dear? I can't imagine what the lord third is thinking, allowing 9 year olds in the Anbu corps when we're not even in wartime. As if it wasn't enough that my oldest son is putting himself in danger every other day." Shisui's mother complained.

Shisui smiled affectionately and continued reassuring his mother.

"Relax mom, I'll be sure to keep myself out of trouble. I have Satoru to look after now don't I?"

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Meanwhile, in the Konoha Council Meeting Room, the Elders had gathered to decide on Minato Namikaze's successor as Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at the head of the table, looking as if he had aged a decade in less than a week.

"Hiruzen, Konoha must not go without a Hokage. So far the Elders have been enough to handle the cleanup of the operation, but we must not allow the other villages to sense weakness! As one of the most accomplished ninja in the village, I'm willing to-"

Danzo had stood up and was passionately making his case towards his fellow elders when Hiruzen cut him off with a wave.

"I will personally return to the role of Hokage in order to ensure stability within the village."

Shock filled Danzo's face as he realised that he had made a false assumption that Hiruzen would not compete for the position due to his tenure as the Third Hokage.

"Is that wise Hiruzen? The other villages may not take kindly to your return, so shortly after the Third Shinobi World War, they'll all be extremely sensitive about the matters of other villages." Elder Koharu Utatane pointed out, with a neutral but concerned expression on her face.

The Third Hokage waved away her concerns with a self deprecating smile on his face. "I won't come back as the Fifth Hokage. Let people know that the Third Hokage will be temporarily filling the position until such a time that a suitable candidate is found."

Danzo bristled at the subtle insult but was unable to argue back, as Elder Utatane and Elder Homura Mitokado both expressed their agreement.

"Yes, what we need right now is a familiar face to handle matters. This is no time to wrestle with helping a new Hokage gain the trust of the villagers." Elder Mitokado pointed out.

"Rather, the attack of the Kyuubi has dealt massive casualties to the Anbu. We must bolster our forces and get past this period of weakness before the other villages pick up on it and take the chance to start another war."

Hiruzen and Koharu nodded grimly, while Danzo reluctantly agreed as well. The discussion continued, pointing out notable ninja to promote or ensure the loyalty of, as well as considering whether to expedite the graduation of Academy students.

Naturally, the conversation eventually progressed to the Kyuubi attack and it's causes. Ideas were suggested and denied until Danzo finally spoke up.

"If there's one thing that cannot be denied it is that the Kyuubi was being controlled by sharingan genjutsu. We must investigate the Uchiha clan and interrogate the most proficient members to find the true culprit of this tragedy. My Root members are perfectly equipped to accomplish this mission."

"Now, Danzo let's not be hasty. The Uchiha are a loyal clan to Konoha, and we must not incite conflict at this time. Rather, the Uchiha are a powerful ally and we must ensure their loyalty to the village above all else."

Elder Koharu and Mitokado nodded their heads, tentatively agreeing with Hiruzen's moderate stance.

"It just so happens that Shisui Uchiha has been performing excellently in the field. I have extended an invitation for him to join the Anbu as I believe it would both help to tie the Uchiha closer to the village as well as reinforce the village's strength."

At this there was unanimous approval, however grudgingly on Danzo's behalf. Although he would have preferred to see the Uchiha all gone, having one within reach of his Root was an acceptable alternative in the meantime.

"In the next order of business, arrangements must be made for Naruto." Hiruzen said, frowning gently with grief flashing across his face.

"The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki should be given to Root to train. It would be a powerful weapon to use to protect the village."

Hiruzen, Homura and Koharu all frowned at Danzo's language, however only Hiruzen made any attempt to correct it.

"That is a child you are speaking of Danzo. The Yondaime's at that. You should have a little respect for him it not for Naruto. Regardless, I had already planned to place him with the orphanage until he began attending the academy, at which point independent housing arrangements would be made." Hiruzen commented shortly. "The question is what we should tell the public. The circumstances of the Yondaime's death cannot be allowed to reach our enemies. As well as that if it is made commonly known that his only son is the last known surviving Uzumaki, there will be many after his bloodline, if not his life."

"I propose we conceal his father's identity," Elder Mitokado suggested, "however I don't think his Uzumaki bloodline will be a large problem. There are other, less well guarded Uzumaki than one protected and living in Konoha. The effort it would take to kidnap young Naruto would not be equal to the value of his bloodline, especially since he has not inherited the obvious traits of it."

It took a long discussion but finally it was agreed that Naruto would be placed with the Konoha Orphanage with the identity of his parents concealed, with only the Uzumaki family name.

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In a remote cave, Obito Uchiha was being tended to by Black Zetsu. Struggling to maintain the right side of his body, Obito writhed in pain and anger, muffled cursing and complaints audible through the kunai handle he was biting.

"Wasn't that fun, sensei? How disappointing that you couldn't recognise me..." Obito laughed deliriously. "Ah well, it was not to be, isn't that right Zetsu-san?"

"I suggest you stop talking before you choke on that handle Obito-san. I can only do so much for your wounds. The rest will depend on time."

Obito could only grit his teeth and bear with his restlessness, burning with motivation to create the world of his dreams and once again reunite with Rin and Kakashi. Putting up with the itchiness that came with healing, he closed his eyes and attempted to sleep.

"Oh mother, how long will it take before I can finally see you again." Black Zetsu thought while slowly healing Obito's wounds.

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[Author Note]

Hello everyone, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the story! I am new to writing so please excuse any bad storytelling on my part. Also I have no idea how to start this so if you like it, good, if you don't ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I can't find any reliable sources on names for Shisui's parents, but from what I can tell a lot of people think his father's name is Kagami and his mother's name is Hae (?). I am aware that Shisui is also descended from Kagami Uchiha so I assumed his father was named after him. If you would prefer these names to just placeholder names like I will be doing for now, please let me know and I will either ignore you and keep doing whatever or listen to you and actually change it. Jury's out.

Similarly, Shisui's age is contested among many sources. For this figure of 9 years old, I took the fact that he was 16 years old when he died (according to many of the sources I saw) and since Itachi was 12 at the time, there is a 4 year difference between them. Since Itachi was 5 when Sasuke was born (and also when the Nine Tails "attacked") Shisui is currently 9.

I have no clue how the third shinobi war timeline works so I'm just gonna make s**t up and you guys will have to roll with it.

For the name, I considered taking the japanese kanji for deep (深 pronounced fuka) and the kanji for think/thought (思 can be pronounced shi) to get Fukashi but then after some research I found the name Satoru which in Japanese can be taken to mean "enlightenment" or "wisdom" among other things. For both options, I think the explanation I wrote in this chapter makes sense, and on top of that it would fit the Mangekyou power I'll give him later (which, hehe, I'm not telling just yet). If you guys prefer Fukashi to Satoru leave a comment and I'll consider changing it.