Chapter 4
Chapter 4: The End of War
The war had ended, as it always did, with a peace treaty. But something was off this time, something that Itachi couldn’t quite shake from his mind. In the original timeline, the peace treaty had come from Konoha’s Hokage, a gesture of goodwill and diplomacy to end the long, bloody war. This time, however, it was the Tsuchikage who had made the offer.
A strange turn of events, but one that had changed the course of history. The village of Konoha had not been as ravaged as it had been in Itachi’s original timeline. They hadn’t needed to make as many sacrifices. The damage had been limited. Less had been lost. And for the first time since Itachi had traveled back in time, he felt a small spark of hope. Maybe this time, things could be different.
He leaned back in his chair, his small body at odds with the older mind inside it, and sighed. His fingers drummed lightly against the wooden table as the conversation around him swirled. He was sitting in Kakashi’s modest home, a place that felt strangely warm compared to the cold silence of the past. Obito, Rin, and Minato were all present, and the argument had once again devolved into something ridiculous: who did Itachi like the most?
He had become the target of their playful teasing, and despite his many years of experience, Itachi was utterly out of his depth. A strange fate, indeed, to be a 16-year-old in a 5-year-old's body, surrounded by the very people who had once been his comrades—and now were something much more.
“So, Itachi,” Rin said, looking at him with a teasing smile. “Who do you like the most? Come on, you have to choose!”
Obito, ever the competitive spirit, crossed his arms and puffed out his chest. “Yeah! Pick me, Itachi! I’m your best friend, right?”
Minato, who was sitting across from them, pouted dramatically, his usual calm demeanor replaced with a childish impatience. “I’ve known you the longest, Itachi. Surely that means something?”
Kakashi, seated beside him, simply facepalmed. “This is getting ridiculous,” he muttered, clearly already tired of the ongoing debate.
Itachi didn’t even glance up from his plate. He wasn’t in the mood for this game. He wasn’t in the mood for anything really. The weight of his mission—the weight of the lives he needed to save—hung heavy on his heart. But that weight didn’t matter here, not in the warmth of Kakashi’s home, surrounded by people who genuinely cared about him, even if it was for reasons he didn’t fully understand.
The 16-year-old trapped in the small body of a 5-year-old could only sigh and take a bite of his food, silently avoiding their gazes. He wasn’t going to entertain their teasing. Not today.
“I don’t know, guys,” Itachi said, his voice surprisingly calm for his inner turmoil. “You’re all good people. I like you all equally.”
Kakashi, still trying to stifle his frustration, muttered under his breath, “You’re impossible, Itachi.”
But as Itachi looked around at them—their faces filled with laughter, warmth, and innocence—it hit him. For the first time since he’d returned, he didn’t feel the oppressive weight of fate threatening to crush him. Maybe he had been wrong to think that he could change everything. Maybe this was a chance to live, to experience the world differently, without the shadow of his past bearing down on him.
Maybe, just maybe, he could serve some love to the people who still had time to live it.
For a fleeting moment, Itachi allowed himself to savor the moment. This warmth, this strange family of his, could be his redemption. He could protect them—guide them away from the mistakes that had haunted him. He didn’t need to carry the burden alone anymore.
As Obito, Rin, and Minato continued to argue over who Itachi liked best, and Kakashi merely sighed in exasperation, Itachi felt a small, almost imperceptible smile tug at the corners of his lips. He couldn’t deny that, in this new life, there were still moments that felt like something worth protecting.
The world wasn’t done with him yet, but maybe, just maybe, it could be better this time. Maybe, with the love and bonds he had here, he could rewrite a future where they all survived.