With the arrival of spring, the sun rose brightly over Konoha, and swallows flocked back to the village's skies.
Small groups gathered in the streets, watching the birds swoop between buildings. The streets are lively again, bustling with traffic by day and glowing with lights at night.
Mikoto's belly was now visibly large, and Fugaku was no longer comfortable letting her go out alone. His eyes lingered on her longer these days, though he tried to hide his concern behind his stern facade.
However, as head of the Police Force and the Uchiha clan leader, taking paternity leave was simply out of the question.
Fortunately, he had a very considerate son.
Today, as usual, Itachi was accompanying his mother on a shopping trip. He keptt a careful watch of their surroundings, just as his father taught him.
Mother's definition of 'quick shopping' seems to differ from everyone else's, he notes as they exit their third shop of the morning.
Young as he was, he didn't quite understand why his mother seemed to become a different person whenever she went shopping, but he dutifully played the role of a little adult, making sure to protect her.
As they exited a shop, he noticed a red-haired woman waving in their direction.
"Mikoto!"
"Kushina!" Spotting her best friend after such a long absence, Mikoto hurried across to say hello.
"Are you also out for a little walk?"
Hearing this, Itachi instinctively glanced sideways.
Hadn't they been out all morning? So this was just a little walk?
Women are scary. A younger sibling would be much better. Yes, definitely a younger brother.
Because, if it turned out to be a younger sister and she also needed 'little walks' in the future…
No, that's not the right way to think. A good older brother accepts their siblings no matter what.
He straightened his shoulders.
"Oh, Itachi is so thoughtful, taking care of his mom!" Kushina said with a smile, ruffling his hair. "This little guy is getting cuter by the day."
Itachi looked helpless. It seemed more and more people have started to mess with his hair lately.
Smoothing it back into place, he addressed her with careful politeness, "Hello, Aunt Kushina."
For a moment, he wondered if he imagined it, but it seemed as though Kushina was giving off a hint of hostility?
"Itachi, that's not very polite," she laughed. "When you meet a lady, you should call her big sister, you know?"
You're no big sister, you're going to be a mom soon. Just as he considered saying this, another hand landed on his freshly styled hair.
"Oh, if it isn't our little Itachi," said a familiar voice nearby. "This won't do at all—you have to remember, you're going to be a man of seven battles!"
"Masashi-sensei," Itachi said, pitifully looking at his rather unruly home tutor, "I just fixed my hair."
"A big guy like you shouldn't worry about hairstyles," Masashi brushes off his complaint.
He just couldn't ignore the opportunity for a bit of mischief. His eyes drifted briefly between the two women, noting their chakra signatures with careful precision.
His timing was hardly coincidental—he was very interested in when Sasuke would be born. And also, Fugaku had specifically asked him to help look after them a bit.
Today, he managed to bump into both of them at once.
"Mikoto-sama, is this lady the wife of the Hokage?" Masashi asked, feigning ignorance of Kushina's identity.
Technically, he really didn't know her. He could just recognize her.
"Oh, you must be Masashi? I've heard Minato mention you—the ice and snow exhibition was really impressive. No need to be formal, you can just call me big sister, too."
"Alright, Kushina-neesan," Masashi answered with a cheerful smile.
It might sound a little cringe-worthy, but she was the Hokage's wife, so it was best to stay in her good graces.
"Are you Itachi's teacher now?" Kushina asked, noticing the the boy's greeting. "No wonder this child has changed so much recently."
In her impression, Itachi used to be a bit wooden, lacking the energy typical for kids his age. She often complained to Mikoto about it, thinking there was an issue with their family's way of raising children.
But starting last year, Itachi had become a lot more lively. At least, he no longer had that serious demeanor. Honestly, seeing such weight in a child felt very odd.
After all, this wasn't the Warring States Period.
While Kushina sized up Masashi, he was also observing her, sensing the chakra within.
So that's Asura's chakra, he thought.
Sensing the unique chakra within Kushina, Masashi felt he was one step closer to uncovering the truth.
In the shinobi world, early on, everything was about hard work, but as things progressed, it all came down to lineage.
Initially, everyone was just a person, but later on, few remained that way. While this shift was typical of long-running stories, the introduction of concepts like the Sage's eyes, Yin and Yang powers, and Yin-Yang Release became central elements by the end.
In the story, the concepts of the Sage's eyes, Yin-Yang powers, and Yin-Yang Release were quite vague.
Masashi believed that when it came to achieving anything, there was no need to choose between talent and hard work. Hard work was the basic quality for any task, while talent was essential for success.
Based on this, the ultimate level one reached depended on the initial direction chosen.
If you chose the wrong path, no amount of talent or effort would make a difference.
In his first attempt, Masashi didn't have the chance to verify this because he lacked chakra-sensing abilities, which was why he couldn't learn the Flying Thunder God at that time.
This technique wasn't difficult because of its complexity but because it required several types of talents simultaneously.
This time around, he has been waiting for these two for a long time, and now he dould finally gather it all.
Both Asura's and Indra's chakras were deeply hidden within the reincarnations' bodies.
It was only through his role as Itachi's teacher that Masashi managed, after repeated failed attempts, to find the right method. Finally, he sensed Indra's chakra within Mikoto.
Now, he could at last sense Asura's chakra as well.
Feeling the two chakras inherited directly from the Sage of Six Paths, and combining what he'd learned and verified two rounds, Masashi finally understood—or perhaps, he felt that he had an epiphany.
The chakras weren't just present—they were interacting, creating patterns he'd never noticed before.
"No wonder the strongest clan during the Warring States Period was always the Senju and not the Uchiha."
Having found the answer he wanted, Masashi retracted his perception and looked at Kushina with a friendlier gaze.
Thanks to this new Asura reincarnation's mother, his future path had become much clearer. He also gained insight into his own current situation.
Just as he'd once told Itachi, while it was true that the higher the vantage point, the clearer the view, it was equally important to watch your footing.
He had thought himself grounded, but Masashi now realized that he hadn't truly seen the full picture before. He was now eager to verify it all.
With Kushina here, there was no need to worry about Mikoto's safety.
"I still have matters to attend to, so I won't interrupt the your pleasant time together," Masashi said, relinquishing the role of chaperone to Itachi. "Make sure to be a good host, Itachi."
"Uh…" the boy looked less than enthusiastic.
"Show some spirit." With a lighthearted comment, Masashi took his leave.
---
Back at the clan's compound, he headed straight for the library.
The Uchiha library guard looked up from his post. "Back again, Masashi?"
"Some historical records need reviewing," Masashi replied, already moving past.
"What's the rush today?" The guard wondered but wasn't too concerned.
After all, Masashi visited the library every few days; everyone knew he liked reading.
Inside, he headed straight to the far end of the first floor, where historical documents were stored.
The Uchiha clan was very proud of its heritage and took their history seriously. The shelves here held scrolls dating back centuries, each carefully preserved.
While the historical records weren't the most professional and often contained personal biases, they were very comprehensive.
Soon, he found what he was looking for: records on Indra. These patterns in the texts... they match what I sensed in the chakra.
Due to turbulent times, some Uchiha records had been lost or damaged, and early records were no longer in their original form.
Descriptions of the clan's founder, Indra, were more myth than history. But myths were fragments of history and still hold value—otherwise, they wouldn't be preserved.
After carefully reading the scroll, Masashi put it back on the shelf and pulled out another.
Indra's figure appeared sporadically in the Uchiha's early history. The previous scroll had simply recorded more detail in one section.
Soon, he pulled out another scroll, found a seat, spread it on the table, and began to search slowly. As time passed, the number of scrolls on his table increased, though he returned many after reading.
Finally, Masashi compared the remaining ones in detail and confirmed a certain idea in his mind. After carefully returning the scrolls to their shelves, he left the library.
To outsiders, he seemed to return to his usual, routine life.
---
Far away from Konoha, a visitor was approaching an unwelcoming place.
"There it is," Obito said, staring at the flat-roofed building in the distance.
"Correct, Madara-sama. That's the Mizukage's quarters," Zetsu replied, half-submerged in mud as usual.
The humid climate of the Land of Water didn't bother him, though he didn't particularly like it either.
"Speaking of, if we're recruiting new members, why not bring those two kids along?"
Obito ignored him, looking out at the village ahead.
Among the countries, none embodied the concept of isolation as much as the Land of Water.
As an island nation surrounded by sea, the Land of Water's territory included both the main island and the surrounding smaller islands, technically making it an archipelago nation.
Leaving aside the smaller islands, the main island had little flat land and was mostly mountainous. Even on the main island, regions weren't closely connected, each having its own distinct culture.
This regional isolation was something other nations on the mainland didn't experience.
Even the mountainous Land of Lightning had variations in local customs, but they belonged to the same cultural sphere overall.
Only the Land of Water gave you the sense of entering a different country with each area you visited.
Kiri was situated deep in the mountains, shrouded by mist.
This ninja village had no sign of everyday life, with fortress-like structures built of stone, connected by walls—a massive military stronghold.
The Mizukage's quarters were the largest fortress in the village.
"Someone's coming," Zetsu suddenly said.
Obito remained silent, activating his Kamui to vanish, while Zetsu sank into the ground.
Soon after, a team of Kiri ninjas appeared.
"Strange..." a kunoichi muttered, confused, her hand forming a sensor seal, "I did sense chakra here."
The Kiri ninjas searched around but found nothing. Their movements were precise and professional—exactly what he'd expect from Kiri's elite.
"Maybe we were wrong," another ninja said. "Besides, this is right under the Fourth Mizukage's nose. Who'd be so bold?"
The others agreed.
They left, unaware that their revered Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, was inwardly cursing. It wasn't that he enjoyed cursing but rather that he physically couldn't speak.
He was trapped in his own mental world, with Isobu, the Three-Tails, lying beneath him, its eyes revealing the Sharingan.
"Does Konoha want to start a war?" Yagura said, glaring at the enemy's Sharingan. He recognized it all too well.
"I'm not from Konoha," Obito sneered.
The confidence he'd lost after his encounter with Masashi was now returning; he felt capable once more.
"Still, that's a Sharingan," Yagura muttered bitterly, struggling against the mental bonds that held him, "Are you that water user?"
"Too much talk, Fourth Mizukage." Obito pinned him in place atop Isobu with a glance. "Don't mention that guy in front of me."
Yagura was stuck in place, shocked. The mental landscape around them twisted with the force of Obito's will.
He wasn't that guy? How many monsters did the Uchiha clan have?
Just before he lost consciousness, Yagura heard one more sentence.
"From today, you're a pawn as well."
---
The next chapter and bonus chapter will be released later, as I didn't have enough time today.
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112/100: First bonus chapter reached!
208/200: Second bonus chapter reached!
208/400 reached for next bonus chapter.
If we somehow reached the top 10, which is so unlikely: 3 chapters/day for 1 week.
A/N: After 20 chapters, I believe it's time to mention my P@treon!
p@treon.com/Malphegor
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