Konohagakure no Sato
Year 69
Gozo Uchiha POV:
The mission assignment office was awfully desolate... As Genin were prohibited from taking missions throughout the weekend, he had never been to the building during those days, though he heard the Genin cells with Jōnin sensei were an exception to this rule.
A privilege he and his teammates did not enjoy, unfortunately.
'Maybe if we did, I would have made Jōnin by now… or at least honed my shurikenjutsu enough to make Tokubetsu,' he lamented within the deeper recesses of his thoughts.
Greater days gone and missed opportunities. Gozo Uchiha was always unmatched in the shuriken art during his academy days—
"Uchiha-san," the receptionist said by way of welcome, "I see you had no issues with your flak jacket."
A smile flickered on his face at the recognition, but he made an effort not to be lost in the sensation...especially after what his father said about his promotion. And just like that, his mood was ruined…reduced to so much bitterness and irritation. But he hid it well, shrouding the unpleasantness with a nod.
He reached into his pocket and produced a document, "I'm here to hand in a departure notification. I will be going on an escort mission to Yugakure along with Genin Kamitsu and Haru."
Despite himself, Gozo found he enjoyed the vocalization of the distinctions of his two teammates... a clear and undeniable fact of his superiority in their team. This promotion he had won through his persistence and dedication… not earned through flimsy competitions.
Contrary to what his father believed, it only took this long because of the negative bias their clan name invoked within the hearts of many in the village, not due to his own lack of brilliance.
The kunoichi took the documents and gave it a quick scan.
"A B-rank mission as your first assignment as Chūnin, was the request by name?" She asked as her hands went through well-practiced motions... stamping and copying down key details while also adding some secondary objectives.
He nodded, "the person is a well-known client of ours; we used to escort him during his supply rounds within Hi no Kuni."
"That's quite impressive," the kunoichi exclaimed with perceivable honesty, "It isn't a common thing for shinobi to cultivate that kind of partnership while still Genin."
That was news to him... and a source of pride. He'd need to see if that smug bastard Itachi had managed the same achievement as well, seeing how his father always made him his source of comparison.
'Being compared to a spineless—' Gozo let out a subdued sigh, careful not to alert the kunoichi of his frustrations and annoyance.
What was more insulting was that Itachi was almost half his age, with close to no experience under his belt. The fact that he made Chūnin by his exaggerated achievements within the Chūnin Exam changed nothing.
After a moment, he was given a small supply scroll and bid the kunoichi good day.
On his way out, he passed a pair of Jōnin who seemed to be engaged in conversation. Out of curiosity, the newly minted Chūnin augmented his ears with chakra and made to listen in…
"—delegation will arrive Friday, the Sandaime asked for Jōnin without clan ties to reinforce places of interest during Kumo's stay within the village."
Gozo quickly dismissed the conversation, uninterested. He knew about Kumo's intentions to form ties with Konoha, though due to his father's injury at the hand of Kumo Shinobi during the Second War, Gozo held little love for their intentions… peaceful or otherwise.
He stepped out of the building, quickly molding chakra beneath the base of his feet and jumping atop the village houses as he began his journey towards the gates.
It took him only a few minutes to arrive— it would have been less if he used the Shunshin but he was really unliking of its disorientation. He free fell from the last building, chakra reinforcing his entire body before he came by a land near his waiting comrades, with minor disturbances to the ambiance.
"Show off!"
The words came from Haru, a kuniochi who graduated from the Academy a year after he and Kamitsu had. Unlike them, she was rather vocal and impulsive…and more often than not, her behaviour was to their detriment.
Kamitsu said she had a not-insignificant case of inferiority complex… Gozo didn't see it, he just thought her someone with little patience for the finer arts and a rather simple mindset. Honestly, Haru had little affinity for the shinobi arts, and the Uchiha half expected that her induction in the system was due to her sensory ability.
Unfortunately it seemed that ability wasn't potent enough to grant her nurture, and was left to the stagnant comforts of the Genin-corp…as was the rest of them.
Gozo turned with a forming frown on his face, "I'm not showing off, nor was I trying to," he sighed, "is Katari-san yet to arrive?"
Kamitsu nodded, while the kuniochi made a face at him.
The Chūnin reached into his pocket and produced the supply scroll. With a single practiced motion, he unraveled it. He brought his right thumb to his mouth and bit into it, enough to produce blood, before slamming the hand into the scroll, unsealing the supplies within.
There was a small puff of smoke which disappeared quickly to leave a bunch of shuriken, kunai, smoke bombs, ninja wire, and plain rations on the ground.
"Waa, the rations are more than our regular supply…the weapons too. Is this because Gozo made Chūnin?" Haru asked as she crouched down to inspect the food… it was still the old plain tasteless bricks they were used to, unscented too.
It was a mystery how their teammate developed a taste for them.
"No, it's because we will be journeying out of Hi no Kuni for the first time. Our usual batch wouldn't have covered for the duration." He crouched down as well, sectioning a part of the supply—mainly the shuriken and kunai.
Not long after that, the supplies were divided and sealed within their own personal scrolls and were waiting for their client to arrive. Fortunately, it took little time for that to happen. Katari-san, along with two individuals, a woman and a…child, slowly approached their way.
Upon closer inspection, the Chūnin noticed that the woman fitted the description of their client's partner. A woman in her early twenties with long black hair and an attractive — if barely for someone of her lesser origin — face. She was rather short with a more feminine form… which was to say she didn't lack in physical allure.
'Hmm, I hope she isn't just using Katari-san for his fortune. I've met plenty of her type within the red light.'
Curious, Gozo activated his kekkei genkai as his eyes warped into crimson orbs with a single tomoe in each of them swirling in deeper observation. With his enhanced vision, the Chūnin discovered that the woman had fallen pregnant, as was evident with the second chakra signature… and it was only a few days old by the looks of it. She was also an unawakened citizen like Gozo, but lacked the scars of harder times.
'So she isn't a reformed prostitute, you seem to have struck true gold with this one Katari-san.' He mused, though his visage remained unchanged.
A moment later his sharingan fell upon the child that walked with them, noticing that his posture and gait spoke of cultivated grace. Had he not activated his dōjutsu in inspection, he would have mistaken him for a scion of a noble clan, but Gozo's ocular prowess saved him from such a misunderstanding.
Still, the boy walked well for his age…almost like he was one of those stuck up Hyūga. It also didn't help that he wore the same attire as well, a dark kimono with combed down hair, though his was a lighter shade.
His chakra was low but awakened with a softer, more conscious rumble, unused to the heavy demands of Ninjutsu, so likely an academy student… Was he perhaps a relative of the woman?
Deactivating his dōjutsu, Gozo stepped forward to welcome their client and company.
———————
Totsu POV:
I watched as the group left, their backs being swallowed by the large forest and being lost from sight. However, my chakra sense still perceived them. All of their reserves were still in the late genin stage of development, a stage slightly below mine. But I wasn't comforted by that fact. These shinobi were untalented and ordinary; they lacked drive and determination, while I had to cultivate tirelessly just to get where I was.
Nothing had come to spur them to pursue strength unclouded. Katari-san had told me plenty about the group after my Juin's seduction. I knew that while blooded, they had never been pushed to the extreme by someone who desired their oblivion.
Because of this, they had grown arrogant and conceited, even if they themselves weren't aware of it. The Uchiha even flaunted his rank as if it didn't take him five years to acquire, though that was still a commendable accomplishment…but it was still a dragging pace for someone of his potential.
"I guess the same can be said for the majority of his clan, they growth crippled by the Nidaime's machinations." My hair tousled at the soft gust that took my muttered murmurs.
Excellency was expected of the high clans of Konoha, all their members were expected to make Jōnin before they became of two decades…or risk being settled with a derogatory title and become an outcast of their clan.
…a fate that was all but guaranteed for the Uchiha.
But I was benevolent, and thus would see his name untarnished.
I let out a sigh and a snort, both actions unbecoming of someone my age and turned back to the village. I didn't need to be here to bid them a good leave, but I was paranoid and wanted to make sure that the war hawk didn't get any ideas and go after my target. I had long since taken to visiting the cemetery on a weekly basis under the assumption of missing my parents.
While there, I made sure to frequent the memorial stone and search for any newly added names, Uchiha names. Thus far, there had been three, all of them Chūnin, all of them frontline shinobi, and all of them with fully matured Sharingan.
There was little proof that Danzō was responsible for their deaths, but I was willing to wager my manhood that it was his doing, probably in an effort to acquire their Sharingan for his eldritch arm.
From what I had been able to gather from the war hawk's actions and my previous life's knowledge of the Sharingan, it seemed that non-Uchiha were incapable of maturing the Sharingan without some serious tempering or twist of fate, as was the case with Obito and Kakashi. But it also seemed that only fully matured Sharingan were capable of Izanagi and Izanami.
'Still a cheap price for reality-bending if you ask me,' I mused. Honestly, a fairer price would have been a Mangekyou Sharingan.
What I was trying to say was that the chances of Danzō going after Uchiha Gozo were extremely low, but the war hawk dealt with the snake — an absolute genius unmatched — so I had reason to worry.
Fortunately, it seemed that interest wasn't held…I guess the upcoming Kumo delegation held more of his attention.
The group faded from my senses as well, and I let a smile morph my features into something more resembling my mood. It was a bit of an effort to let go of the Depersonalisation Technique and reclaim proper control of my body. It was a surprise when I found that such a thing was even taught in the academy, though the instructors did advise its usage be sparingly.
Under a shroud that limited the fluctuations of my chakra, I performed the Shunshin unaided by seals before disappearing mid-step with no trace of swirling leaves.
'I leave the rest to you, Kage Bunshin.'
The plan was simple…
———————
Unknown Location
Clone Totsu:
It took three days for the compulsion to take effect within Katari's psyche, and had the team of shinobi been more vigilant, more suspicious, more uncommon with their client, such a thing would have been investigated… and perhaps stopped.
But Totsu was diligent and careful. He had foreseen such possibilities and nullified them before they could even happen. Ever since he noticed that Katari had sought the services of his target and had begun to develop a rapport with him… and his team, Totsu had started to request some odd things during his runs.
Every time the runner was to travel, he needed to deliver a scroll at a certain location midway. The scrolls held little of worth—at least to Totsu. The first and second time, he noticed some tempering within their seal work—remnants of foreign chakra—which Totsu deduced belonged to the target and his male teammate, after that the suspicion reduced and became nonexistent as the scrolls were ignored with each run.
Cultivated trust…or just the cumbersome mundanity of an odd client.
Totsu didn't much care for the reason, so long as the behaviour was maintained. The scroll that Katari-san had left in the hallowed out buck of a tree gave a pop sound before a plume of white smoke was expelled from it. This scroll, it was designed so that after its bar had been twisted, there would be a delayed summon of what was in it.
The mechanism behind the dragged design was stolen from the formula of a personal tags explosives…
After a moment, a figure shrouded in dark attire stepped out of the white plume with a rush of chakra.
…while the sealing of a pre-activated jutsu with stolen from Minato's Hakke no Fūin Shiki. That along with the Shiki'sconcealment mechanism, a feature that disallowed discovery when the Fūin isn't in use.
The dark clad figure stepped forward in emergence, the white plume parting and dispersing…the process initiated by motion, but exaggerated by wind transformation.
"It seems the first stage was without trouble…"
I spoke unheard, while my slightly dulled chakra senses scanned for the remnants of the group's chakra traces within the ambience. From what I had seen, these shinobi weren't that proficient in chakra control.
It took a moment, but I was soon able to notice their trail. They weren't far, dragged by the mundanity of Katari-san.
Well, first I needed to prepare.
Seeing how Totsu had taken diligence in the creation of this Kage Bunshin, enough so that a pseudo copy of his Juin was transferred, I flared up my chakra to activate and unlock the stored chakra within the seal.
The Shiki on my nape bloomed as augmentation took hold of my constructed body and enhanced every single attribute within it… I directed some of the chakra into my defence, building a three layer barrier that would act as a safeguard to my destruction.
After all, despite their versatility, Kage Bunshinwere still weak chakra constructs that dispelled after damage was inflicted.
The surge of chakra morphed and shaped my body, giving me unearned height and maturity in features, tattooed lines appearing within my form with burns…though they weren't a mess like those of Orochimaru's Ten no Juin, but a beautiful symmetric like Danzō's Ura Shishō Fūin.
With a nudge, I cloaked the suspicious transformation with a Henge that gave me a new identity…supercharging it to hinder discernment.
Finishing that, I went through hand seals, producing another pair of Kage Bunshin that would act as a countermeasure in case of the prime's destruction. The pair submerged into the earth via the usage of Hyōmen no Inpei. There was barely a ripple within my reserves, courtesy of the density that became of my chakra.
I flexed and stretched my body, enjoying the power stored in it. A smile unbidden came to my face…
"Well, I shouldn't waste anymore time…"
With a burst of speed, I shot toward the group, adding a few Shunshin in between to minimise time. As soon as the group came to view, I initiated the second stage to the Sharingan Acquisition mission…
I brought my right hand into a seal and triggered the explosive curse woven within Katari-san's Seishin-teki dorei-ka no Juin. It was unfortunate, but I couldn't have the runner survive.
Katari-san's neck ballooned, the blazing inferno practically perceivable within it, before an explosion replaced the spectacle.