Naruto: Reborn in His Younger Self

Itachi activated his newly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan and knelt once more at the place where his parents had died. After offering three bows and nine kowtows, he slowly stood and left with Shisui.

As they stepped out of the ruins of the Uchiha compound, sunlight bathed Itachi's shoulders. He lifted his head to the sky, the warmth washing over him like a silent blessing—as if, for the first time in his life, he were truly free.

"Shisui," Itachi said quietly, "I suddenly feel like… after someone dies once, all the things that used to feel important just seem so meaningless."

Shisui took a long breath, eyes scanning the quiet streets. "I completely agree."

Itachi glanced sideways at him. "If all of this hadn't happened… the coup, the war, everything—what would you have wanted to do most?"

Shisui crossed his arms and pondered for a moment. "The Uchiha clan no longer exists in Konoha. I think I'd find a place where no one knows me. Somewhere peaceful, where I could just live quietly."

Itachi smiled faintly. "That aligns with what I want."

"Then we have a deal," Shisui said with a rare, easy smile. "Once we help Naruto end this war and bring peace to the shinobi world, let's disappear. Just you and me, somewhere far away from all this madness."

Itachi's smile widened, genuinely happy for once.

Clack.

Suddenly, a roof tile snapped loose and hit the ground with a sharp crack, making both men instinctively turn toward the noise, alert.

Perched atop a nearby roof was a ninja cat—orange-furred along the back with white belly and limbs—staring directly at Itachi with wide, burning eyes.

"Sharingan… No, that's Mangekyō Sharingan! How can this be? The Uchiha clan should be…" the cat murmured, its voice laced with disbelief.

Though the cat was meowing in animal speech, the frequency and tone struck Shisui with familiarity. His brows furrowed.

"No," Shisui said quickly. "Itachi, that's a ninkeneko—a ninja cat!"

Even though neither of them wore the traditional cat gear used by those allied with the Cat Realm, the Uchiha had a long-standing relationship with the ninja cats. Many of their weapons were forged and supplied through the cats living in the Nekobaa's domain—an isolated area known as the Cat Fortress.

When the ninja cat heard Shisui say "Itachi," it froze for a split second, recognition dawning in its eyes. It was him. That guy. That Itachi—the one who had annihilated the Uchiha Clan.

Wasn't he supposed to be dead?

Why is he alive!?

Damn it! He even caught me once when I was a kitten…!

Slip!

Realizing the danger, the ninja cat bolted in an instant, hoping to avoid being silenced.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. He remembered now. Yes—he had caught this cat before, back during a mission shortly after graduating from the Academy.

"Shisui," Itachi said coldly.

Shisui was already a step ahead. "Got it! Let's catch him. We can't let him get away!"

The two leapt into action.

Itachi was no longer the boy who'd once struggled to contain a feral cat. And with Shisui's Shunshin no Jutsu—the Body Flicker Technique—on their side, the ninja cat didn't stand a chance.

Shisui's Sharingan flared, and he was already behind the cat, a kunai drawn and ready to strike.

But before he landed the hit, Itachi raised a hand. "Wait, Shisui. I know this cat."

Shisui paused, surprised. "You do?"

Itachi nodded solemnly.

Frowning, Shisui pulled back. "It's way too fast. If we want it alive, we'll need a plan."

"I've dealt with it before," Itachi said. "Its agility relies on its whiskers—they're sensory organs that help it balance and detect changes in airflow."

Understanding lit up in Shisui's eyes. "Then you know what to do."

They both pulled out kunai.

With perfect coordination, they launched six kunai at the fleeing cat. Its whiskers twitched, catching subtle changes in air pressure. The cat twisted, dodging expertly mid-air.

Hmph. It scoffed inwardly. I've gotten faster over the years. You'll have to try harder than that.

But just as it prepared to land safely, it heard several metallic clangs—the sounds of kunai colliding mid-air.

What—?

To its horror, the kunai Itachi and Shisui had thrown had been redirected—thanks to perfectly timed deflections and angled throws. Two kunai slashed through the air, severing the ninja cat's left and right whiskers.

Shit!

It lost balance immediately.

Before it could even recover, another kunai, redirected by a swift throw from Itachi, changed trajectory mid-air and smashed straight into its forehead.

Meow!

The ninja cat yowled and fainted on the spot, falling from the roof into Itachi's waiting arms.

Itachi cradled it, recognizing it more clearly now. Yes. It's definitely the same one.

Still strong after all these years.

Shisui exhaled in relief. "Good thing we caught it. If it escaped, our presence would've been exposed."

He stared at the unconscious feline. "Judging by the ninja vest it's wearing and the 'Nin' symbol stitched onto it, it must've come from Nekobaa's place in the Hidden Cat Fortress. But why would it be here?"

Itachi's lips curved slightly. "Probably trying to avoid something."

He remembered this cat from childhood. It would often sneak away from its owner while carrying a sake bottle—desperately fleeing from unwanted affection or forced responsibilities.

If it had run here, of all places—the abandoned Uchiha district—it was likely seeking refuge in a restricted area no one dared enter.

Unlucky for it, though, to run into him and Shisui.

As the severed whiskers slowly floated down in the air, Itachi was struck by a distant memory—Gastrodia.

Back when he and his teammates had been assigned to capture this very cat, Gastrodia had nearly fallen from a high rooftop while trying to harvest the whiskers for medicinal purposes.

He'd been only twelve.

Later, during a mission, Gastrodia was killed by the masked man—Obito. He had died protecting Itachi.

Itachi took a deep breath, releasing it slowly.

Seeing his expression, Shisui said gently, "You're remembering something… connected to this cat?"

Itachi nodded. "When we first became Genin, our sensei—Minazuki—led us on a mission. One of them was to capture this exact cat. My teammates back then were Gastrodia and Shinko."

He chuckled faintly, lost in thought. "It's one of the few memories I have… that actually makes me smile."

Shisui grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. "So what now?"

Itachi glanced down at the unconscious cat. "We return it. Without its whiskers, it's vulnerable."

He activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and stared into the cat's eyes. A ripple of Genjutsu flowed from his gaze.

The ninja cat's body shuddered briefly. Then its breathing relaxed.

"I altered its memory," Itachi said. "It won't remember seeing us. It'll think it got drunk and lost its whiskers in an accident."

Shisui smirked. "Clever."

Itachi stood. "Come with me to the Hidden Cat Fortress. I'd like to visit an old friend."

Shisui immediately knew who he meant—Nekobaa, the elderly matron who managed the Uchiha's secret weapons supply. She had watched both Itachi and Sasuke grow up. Even during the clan's final days, she had tried to convince Sasuke to spare his brother, deeply hurt by their inevitable conflict.

Now that Itachi had returned to the living and encountered this cat, there was no reason not to visit the fortress and greet one of the few people in the world who had once truly cared for him.

They vanished into the trees—ninja and cat in tow—headed for the quiet sanctuary known only to a few in the entire shinobi world.

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