Clan Masuroboshi
House of the Clan Head
Third-Person Perspective
Takeshi was once again sitting in the kitchen, reading a report. The clock on the wall ticked quietly, and the children were asleep. He didn't know what was going through the minds of his elders. He didn't know what his enemies were plotting. He didn't even know who was responsible for the deaths of his wives.
But his instincts and experience screamed that everything was about to change. The world would soon shake.
The century-old system would not hold, and people would seek to change the world.
New powers were rising, the children of his ravens were growing stronger, and his own were still developing. But an uprising led by three people who had reached the S-rank level was inevitable. After all, heirs of the great clans' leaders were not allowed to be weak—this was a sin the ninja world would never forgive.
The first to make their mark were Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju. Rumors said that the two often spoke during battles without even fighting. Some claimed they had been childhood friends. Others theorized they were lovers.
This arrangement suited Takeshi perfectly, as he was certain they would become the next heads of their clans. And if they failed to leave behind descendants, he would only benefit.
Takeshi's smirk signaled his victory on this front. But if he set aside the jokes, the truth remained—both of them were predicted to surpass their fathers.
Hashirama was a straightforward and powerful leader. He had inherited the ancient Kekkei Genkai of Wood Release. It was known that his techniques could absorb chakra—an incredibly dangerous ability. But not even his father knew the full extent of his power. Only someone who had fought him for years could truly understand it. He also possessed an immense chakra reserve.
Madara Uchiha—during a recent battle—had awakened the fourth stage of the Sharingan. Two out of its three abilities remained unknown. He, too, had vast chakra reserves and impressive control over it, but that was all that was known about him so far.
And then there was Mito Uzumaki, a genius in the fields of fūinjutsu and iryō-ninjutsu. It was believed she had awakened the Chakra Chains and possessed perfect chakra control. Rumors claimed she could even seal a Tailed Beast.
Lost in thought, Takeshi didn't notice the clock's smallest hand ticking toward five in the morning. Snapping out of his thoughts, he got up and walked to Yuki's room.
Upon entering, he saw that Yuki was already sitting at the table, reading a book.
Realizing he wouldn't be able to startle him, Takeshi said,
—Waiting for an invitation?
Yuki merely raised an eyebrow at him before turning his eyes back to his book.
—Well, it's not me who's skipping breakfast.
With a wave of his hand, Takeshi left the room.
Annoyed that he always had to be the first one awake in the morning, Yuki stepped outside.
"A book about kenjutsu… interesting," Takeshi thought.
When he reached Haru's room, he walked in and smiled upon seeing the boy still lying down. Without wasting time, he approached the bed, but before he could do anything, Haru, without opening his eyes, said,
—I'm already awake.
Hearing that, Takeshi's excitement faded. He disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
He was beginning to think that none of his children would be caught off guard today. The sealing tag containing ten kilograms of ice seemed unnecessary.
But when he entered Sora's room, his mood lifted.
Sora, still asleep, sensed a slight danger but ignored it. However, when Takeshi raised the sealing tag above him, his instincts kicked in. He opened his eyes—but it was too late. A hail of small ice cubes rained down on him.
Whether from the cold or sheer irritation, he released his presence outward. Yuki and Haru, already outside, just smiled.
Sora, ready to tear apart whoever had woken him so rudely, scanned the room. But Takeshi was nowhere to be seen—he was already standing beside his sons, setting the stopwatch.
Sora appeared in less than twenty seconds.
—Don't waste time. Get to the starting line, Takeshi ordered. —And remember, you'll be running until the dogs fall into the pit. So I suggest you conserve your energy.
Sora, Haru, and Yuki took their positions. The moment they heard the clap, they took off.
Just a few meters in, they heard the sound of a dog trotting behind them.
That meant the chase had begun.
One Hour Later
Sora, Haru, and Yuki had already run about six kilometers. They couldn't afford to slow down—the dogs were relentless.
They had long since begun converting their chakra into energy, but the hounds didn't stop. They didn't even grow tired or stop growling. It was as if they were new, fresh from the start.
Yuki was the first to analyze the situation.
**"Takeshi didn't specify an exact goal, so we have to figure it out ourselves. There are three possible explanations:
1. He wants us to fight the dogs. But that's unlikely—he's not crazy enough to make us battle beasts that can corrode the ground with a single touch.
2. He wants us to run a specific distance. This seems like the most probable option.
3. He wants us to maintain a certain speed for a specific time. That's possible too, but if the second theory turns out to be wrong, we won't have enough energy to complete the third."**
Yuki shared his thoughts with his brothers.
Haru was about to say something, but before he could, Sora suddenly sped up.
Haru, unwilling to be left behind, immediately followed.
Yuki, who preferred not to rely on luck, clicked his tongue but ran after them.
Sora didn't accelerate because he was sure of anything, nor because it was the most rational choice.
He simply heard his instincts screaming at him, "Run!"
And he wasn't about to ignore their call.
Haru, who often relied on reason, ran knowing that Sora wasn't reckless enough to speed up without sensing an escape. He knew that Sora only needed a hint of a way out, and his instincts would tell him whether it was worth getting involved. So he decided to trust Sora's instincts.
Yuki, who always thought three times before acting, had a strong urge to yell at his brothers, but the sudden slowing of the dogs gave him hope. Yet when he saw the dogs speed up again after slowing down, his mind began to panic. From birth, he'd been told that the clan leader (Takeshi) must choose a worthy successor, so he needed several options—and the leader had the right to kill his own child if they didn't meet the standard he'd set for them. Understanding these facts, his mind began producing extra astrocytes to consider every possibility. Without realizing it, Yuki replicated a technique his father hadn't even planned to teach him in the future—one that could turn a person into a vegetable.
Takeshi, aware of the risks, had rejected this technique. Suddenly, the instincts of all three screamed. Yuki, already at the peak of his abilities, felt the cold breath of death on his neck, so he sped up—but then something cracked in his body. Chakra channels that had been blocked before now opened, and as chakra flowed through them, his legs felt a lightness he'd never known.
Meanwhile, Sora, who was in the lead, caught a glimpse of a blur rushing past him. If his instincts had been screaming before, now his heart was shouting at him to run.
In Sora's mind:
"Faster!!!! Faster" — the voice was calm but loud, yet it wasn't alone; another voice cried out in despair alongside it!
"Behind us—danger—it's about to catch us!!! Faster!!!!"
The last voice was quiet but the clearest.
"Do you want to lose? Yes, you know it's your brother—the one who beat you, who looked down on you as you lay on the ground. You know it's true; you feel Haru's breath behind you, so it must be Yuki. Go ahead, stop, end your pathetic existence."
A crack sounded in his head. Sora's eyes widened with realization and a rush of pleasure, as if cool water were spreading inside him. Bolstered by this, he sped up, and to Haru, his silhouette blurred into a black spot chasing another black spot.
Haru smiled, realizing he'd lost. But he pushed himself even harder. A voice rang in his head:
"Can't you do better? Are you weaker? Less talented??"
If you can and want to, then do it—it's that simple!
Haru grinned wider and shouted:
"Let's go!!!!!"
Without feeling any coolness or surge of power—without feeling anything at all—he just ran. Somehow, he began to distinguish the silhouettes of his brothers as he caught up to them. Crossing the line, the instincts of all three fell silent, though their hearts still urged:
"Don't fall—are you weaker than the other two?"
All three stood before Takeshi.
Takeshi looked at the three exhausted children barely standing in front of him. He smiled and said:
"You're free until ten. Elder Tanaka has already started preparing lunch, so hurry up with your tasks."