Chapter 1: You are still too slow Shisui

"Heroes don't seem to fare all that well in Konohagakure...", a man sitting on a rock in the middle of the Naza river muttered as he watched his best friend throw himself off of the cliff up above, "Looks like you were still not fast enough for something, Shisui". The young ninja quickly stood, lightning dancing off of his form. With a blue flash, the wolf masked ninja disappeared, thunder rumbling despite the lack of clouds.

At the top of the cliff, a young Uchiha reached for the falling figure of his friend. His elder brother in all but blood. The man he considered his mentor. Itachi stretched pouring on all the speed he could muster only to miss Shisui's hand by inches. Itachi's Sharingan forever etching the slight smile on Shisui's face into his mind as the man fell to his death. Itachi skidded to a halt inches before the edge of the cliffside as he felt his eyes begin to burn. Jaw clenched, he involuntarily shut his eyes as a maelstrom of anger, despair, and sorrow raged within his chest.

'This is not how the world should be!', Itachi's soul screamed in anguish as time seemed to freeze in his perception. The sounds of the river came to a stop as silence took his inner mind. Itachi stood alone in a red world as tears ran down his face. The world around him was all the same as it was just before but the sky was crimson and the earth and trees were faded grey. Startled and looking around confused Itachi took a moment until he realized he was within a genjutsu, a mutation of his eyes. He had done it. Just as Shisui wanted. He had unlocked his Mangekyo Sharingan.

A brief feeling of pride washed over Itachi followed by an even greater wave of despair. He had evolved his eyes to a greater degree than many of his clan, but it had cost him too much. 'It wasn't worth it. Nothing is worth this pain', Itachi thought as he fell to his knees. Hours passed before Itachi moved again. The cold gaze he was was known for now once again adorning his face, Itachi stood clenching his fists.

"Hey, you. Hey! Wake your stupid self– What in Hogomoro's blue world!?! Your eyes are bleeding! Oi! Ooooiiiii!!!! Uchiha! Shisui what's your friend's name? I need to wake him up!", Itachi shuddered as a boisterous voice shook his genjutsu world.

'What the…', Itachi brow furrowed in concern as he watched the blood-red dream fade out of existence as he was forcibly removed from his newly obtained genjutsu. With tears of blood streaming down his face Itachi opened his newly patterned eyes and stood mouth agape.

Standing before him was a wolf masked ninja with arms covered in scars, princess carrying Shisui. His mesh armor was tattered and barely held together underneath a white leather vest with cobalt fur lining the hood. A beat-up Konoha headband wrapped around his upper arm. The ninja was tall, even barefoot, he dwarfed the eleven-year-old Uchiha. The mask the ninja wore was of no ANBU design Itachi had ever seen before, but the wolf head was decorated with streaks of blue lightning.

The unwilling passenger in the man's arms, though blind, looked upward at the ninja's masked face. Shisui's face looked like it was stuck between shock, jubilance, and being forced to keep a lemon in his mouth for an extended period of time.

"Oh! He's awake! Hahaha! I am the best! Isn't that right Shisui?", The wolfish ninja literally barked the laughter that boomed out of his frame.

Though Shisui had no eyes, he would never forget the man's voice. A few awkward seconds passed as the unknown ninja continued to laugh not noticing the atmosphere, Itachi's eye twitched in confusion and general distaste of the man before him.

"Shisui… Who is thi–", Itachi started but was interrupted by Shisui shouting, "YOU MOTHER FUCKER!". With a quick twist of his body, Shusui reached up and placed the man in a well-practiced triangle choke. Shisui's face though once pale with shock was now flushed red with anger as he began striking the head of the masked ninja.

"Ack! Fu–Shisui! Stop it! Stop it! Shisui I'm sorry!", the ninja tried to speak past his constricted windpipe. Shisui only flexed his legs harder as he angrily yelled, "EIGHT FUCKING YEARS! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD FOR EIGHT YEARS!".

Blows that could only have seen with a Sharingan rained down onto the ninja's face until Shisui was suddenly left beating a log to smithereens. Itachi's eyes widened, even with the Sharingan, he hadn't even seen the hand signs for the Kawarimi.

"I didn't mean to be gone for so long! I can explain!", the white-clothed ninja shouted from behind a tree on the edge of the clearing. Shisui stopped his rage-induced frenzy at the shout and clenched his fists in anger. The gulp was audible from the wolf ninja.

"I uh, well... I may have reversed summoned myself to the summoning realms to escape the Bijudama fired off by that bastard the Hachibi Jinchuuriki… and I uh… Well, I wasn't really allowed to leave until I mastered the Wolf Clan's ninja arts and was kept in the Oyamatsumi Expanse until I passed the trials to learn the final skill of the clan… It's not my fault!".

Shisui stood there tensed and unmoving as he listened to the rambling response given by his long lost ally.

"I'm sorry...", the man said, "If it's any consolation Shisui… It wasn't your fault that I was trapped". Shisui flinched as he listened. "You probably placed blame on yourself for my... disappearance… It was me. I was too far gone when Hakuken died. I lost it and charged ahead when I should have run...", the ninja paused as he clenched his jaw.

Shisui said nothing still fuming at the return of his thought to be 'dead' friend. The ninja, seeing he wasn't getting through to his rival, gave a nervous chuckle. "Oka-san and Oto-san will probably be pissed! And I bet Tsume-obasan and Hana-chan will be just as happy as you huh…", the ninja shivered at the thought of his overprotective aunt and cousin. "Oh and Minato-ojisan! Is he the Hokage yet? How is Kushina-obasan?", The ninja cocked his head to the side questioningly.

Shisui gave a mirthless laugh, imagining the beat down he would receive when he returned to the Inuzuka clan home and shook his head sadly at the mention of his rival's parents Inuzuka Kiba and Inuzuka-Namikaze Mina, his uncle Namikaze Minato, and aunt Uzumaki-Namikaze Kushina.

"Inuzuka Kaemon… You bastard… You've missed a lot...", was all Shisui managed to get out before he began to fall exhausted and succumbing to the poison and damage from Danzo's recent attack.

"Shisui!", Itachi ran forward to catch his friend before he hit the ground, noticing his skin covered in a sheen of sweat. Kaemon ran to his fallen friend lifting his mask and sniffing the air revealing startling blue eyes and sandy brown hair. His red Inuzuka clan markings the only thing confirming his relation to the clan.

"His body is shutting down. The poison is close to reaching his heart", Kaemon said as he knelt beside his friend, "Uchiha, I will bring him to a healer. You must report to our team Jonin, it seems that old man Danzo is responsible for Shisui's state, I can smell his rotting body and something else…", Kaemon frowned, doing his best to place the caustic scent.

"You guessed what happened from only the scent?", Itachi's eye arced upward reminiscent of a certain ANBU captain's facial quirk.

"I told you I'm the best! Hahaha!", Kaemon once again began reveling in his own greatness until he realized that Itachi didn't even spare him a second glance. 'He's just like Shisui…', Kaemon thought with a depressed frown.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)", Kaemon bit his finger and placed his hand on the ground channeling his chakra into the technique. A massive white wolf the size of a horse appeared from a white cloud of smoke, its eyes a strange electric blue.

"Little Kaemon", the wolf said as he nodded to his summoner, "How can I aid you?".

"Shiro-san," Kaemon gave a slight bow, "I need you to carry the injured one as I track down the best healer I know. We won't make it in time unless I move at my top speed, meaning I need someone to carry him and keep up," Kaemon said to the wolf. The Wolf Summon nodded in response and knelt beside Shisui as Kaemon picked him up once again and placed him on top of the wolf.

Itachi could only stare as he took in the fast-talking enigma that was the ninja before him. Itachi's stoic face never breaking aside from a raised eyebrow and a deepening scowl. He had no idea what to think about this unknown. He didn't seem like an enemy, he had a Konoha headband, but he still couldn't decide if he was a friend or foe.

"Alright! Time to get crack'n!", Kaemon closed his eyes and leaned back his head and took three big sniffs of the air. After a few seconds, a puzzled look came onto his face.

"Uchiha, why is Tsunade-sama's scent so far from the village? Is she back on active duty and on a mission? Ah it doesn't matter, I'll ask her when I get there! Why are you still here? Go tell Zaji-Sensei what happened! Shoo!", the words poured out of Kaemons mouth not giving Itachi the chance to process anything that he said let alone form a response.

"I guess Konoha will have to wait, I've got so save a friend! Shiro lets go!", Kaemon yelled as he began channeling chakra into his form, "Shiyaku no Jutsu (Beast Imitation Arts: Four Legs Jutsu) and Raiton: Shinsoku (Lightning Release: Godspeed)". Kaemon's fingernails elongated and his already wolfish canines grew even longer sticking out from his grinning mouth. The soft blue glow of electricity dancing across the Inuzuka's animal-like body accompanied by the smell of ozone made Itachi's eyes widen.

'That's the Raikage's Nintaijutsu! No… it's different… He does not have protective armor! And he melded this Raiton Jutsu and the Inuzuka clan arts? What is he?', Itachi quickly drew his blade from his back and made a downward swipe at the enigma who claimed to know his friend. But as Itachi's blade came close to the grinning face of Kaemon he suddenly disappeared.

"That's the fastest I've seen you move all night!", Kaemon chuckled sarcastically now on all fours behind the ANBU ninja. Itachi had only just turned to face Kaemon again analyzing his foe, 'Fast! Even faster than Shisui… Who is he?'.

"Now before you try again, go tell our Sensei what happened, he'll know what to do", Kaemon then disappeared with a blue flash, his wolf summon following just as quickly jumping off into the distance.

Itachi could only stare off into the distance. After a few seconds, he sheathed his sword wondering what he was to do. 'I need to report to the Hokage, Shisui being attacked by Danzo is disastrous. Danzo wielding the Kotoamatsukami even more so... He has the power to brainwash anyone! I must go now! The matter of Inuzuka Kaemon can rest for another time', Itachi gathered himself and Shunshined (Body Flicker Technique) into the trees heading to the Hokage's tower. 'I can not tell if Inuzuka is a blessing or a curse for the village', Itachi thought as he left the clearing alongside the Nara River.