Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Odd Behavior
Itachi couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. He had lived through countless scenarios in his past, but none of them had prepared him for the strange shift he was seeing in Sasuke. In the original timeline, Sasuke was always so eager—following him around, pestering him to train, asking him to play. But now, Sasuke seemed... different.
Sasuke was still young, but his behavior had drastically changed. He no longer sought Itachi out for attention. He didn't beg him for training sessions, nor did he try to emulate his older brother as he had before. Instead, Sasuke had grown more distant, spending his time alone.
Itachi's confusion deepened when he noticed something even more troubling—Sasuke had started sneaking out of the Uchiha compound. At first, it was just small moments. Sasuke would leave the house without a word and return hours later with no explanation. Itachi thought it was a phase, a side effect of Sasuke growing older, but the behavior continued. It was as if Sasuke was avoiding him, avoiding everyone.
There were no signs of what Sasuke was doing when he left. No indication of where he went or who he was meeting. Itachi tried to follow him, but every time Sasuke disappeared from his sight, he would lose track of him almost immediately. His Sharingan couldn’t detect Sasuke’s movements, and with each failed attempt, Itachi’s concern only grew.
The worst part was that Sasuke seemed to disappear without a trace. No scent, no footprints, no sign of him anywhere. It was as if the little boy had dropped off the face of the earth entirely.
Desperation set in. Itachi couldn’t stand the thought of losing Sasuke again, not after everything he had done to save him. He enlisted help, turning to Shisui and Kakashi for assistance. Both were skilled ANBU members, accustomed to tracking and hunting, but even they couldn’t find any clue as to Sasuke’s whereabouts. Itachi's mind raced, filled with a mix of fear and confusion.
What was happening to his brother?
Days passed, and then one day, Sasuke vanished entirely.
He didn’t leave a single trace. His scent had disappeared as though it had been erased from the world. His hair, his clothing—nothing was left behind. The Uchiha clan went into a state of panic, searching every inch of Konoha for their missing heir, but it was as if he had never existed at all.
Itachi’s heart sank as he watched the panic spread. The Hokage had issued wanted posters in a desperate attempt to find Sasuke, but the situation grew more dire by the day. There was no evidence of kidnapping, no ransom demands, nothing. Sasuke had simply vanished into thin air, like a ghost.
Itachi couldn’t bring himself to understand it. What had happened? Why was Sasuke the one to disappear? The pain of losing him again threatened to overwhelm him, but a darker thought began to creep into his mind.
What if Sasuke’s disappearance wasn’t random? What if this had something to do with his time jump?
Itachi had never questioned why or how he had traveled back in time. He had always assumed that his actions, his desire to save Sasuke and the clan, had led to the mysterious shift in time. But now, he wondered—what if it wasn’t him who caused the time jump? What if Sasuke had sent him back?
The idea seemed absurd, impossible even. But the more Itachi thought about it, the more he considered the possibility. Sasuke had always been a more complex person than Itachi had ever given him credit for. Even as a child, there was a wisdom in his eyes that Itachi couldn’t quite place. What if Sasuke had been the key all along? What if he had somehow triggered the event that had sent Itachi back in time, and now, in exchange, Sasuke had to pay the price?
Had Sasuke known what would happen? Had he, in some twisted way, sacrificed himself to give Itachi a second chance?
Itachi clenched his fists, his mind racing. He had to find Sasuke. He had to understand what was going on, even if it meant going further down a path he wasn’t sure he was ready to walk.
The stakes had never been higher, and yet, Itachi found himself asking a question he hadn’t even considered before:
What if Sasuke wasn’t just the victim in this twisted timeline?
What if he was the one who had set everything in motion