Byakuya gazed at the entrance of the Uchiha compound as he and Shisui stepped inside.
"Sorry about this..."
Turning to Shisui, Byakuya shook his head at the boy's words.
Turns out an Uchiha elder had caught wind of his recent friendliness with Shisui after the boy had told his grandmother about him.
'I think I know what this is about...' Byakuya thought as he and Shisui stopped in front of a house.
Walking to the door on his own, Byakuya knocked.
"Enter."
a Gruff aged voice came from within, prompting Byakuya to slide the door open and step inside. Within the room, he spots an old man sitting behind a low table.
"Take a seat." The Uchiha elder spoke, his eyes closed.
Nodding, Byakuya sat opposite him and waited for the elder to speak. a Few minutes passed before the elder opened his eyes.
"What is it you want?" He asked, gazing into Byakuya's eyes.
'Straight to the point.' Byakuya thought and answered. "To witness a gifted child grow." He said and he wasn't lying. If he could make Shisui stronger than he was before he died, then Byakuya would be happy.
"Hm..." The elder hummed. "a Kekkei Genkai wielder wants to train another." The elder started speaking. "a Prodigy under the direct wing of the Hokage wants to train an Uchiha." He scoffed.
'Direct wing..?' Byakuya thought, furrowing his brows in confusion.
Seeing the boy's confusion, the elder raised his eyebrow. "We have been keeping a close eye on your movement with Shisui Uchiha." He revealed.
Byakuya thought about the many ninja he sensed while he trained Shisui. 'So I have the Root, Anbu and Uchiha on my ass...' He mused and looked at the elder. "I have no foot in the brainless struggle between the Village and Uchiha." He announced, ignoring the befuddled elder.
"Uchiha Shisui is nothing but a child I stumbled upon. I saw his talents..." Byakuya's unwavering eyes stared at the elder. "And I'm not going to ignore it because two children are fighting between who takes the candy."
"Enough!" The elder slammed his hand on the table and narrowed his eyes at the boy in front of him. "You are slandering both the Hokage and the Uchiha constantly, boy. Be careful of your words."
Byakuya shrugged, he had no fear for the elder's words. If the Uchiha believes he's under the Hokage, then they won't do anything. Unless they're ready for war. 'Plus I have enough strength to protect myself...'
"I speak the truth." Byakuya spoke. "I understand the Village leaders had put you guys in a tough position by ostracizing the clan, but you feed into it. Your arrogance had led you to become the black sheep more and more." Byakuya explained his own understanding of it.
"You Uchihas think yourselves as Gods." Byakuya sneered. "Now look at you." He lifted his arms, gesturing around him. "Leading yourselves to the podium only to be hung."
*Bang!*
Once more the elder slammed the table with his hand. "The Uchiha clan are more than enough to take down this Village." He spoke with pride.
Byakuya shook his head. "Whatever. Do not bother me while I train Shisui. I do not care for the death of this clan. I do not care for the struggles in this Village." He said before standing up.
He had said enough. His emotions had gotten the better of him. 'This foolish Uchiha thinks I'm here to brainwash his little prodigy.' Byakuya sneered internally. 'This meeting will make my position worse for both sides.' He thought.
---
Hiruzen rubbed his temples after listening to the reports of the Anbu he stationed to watch Byakuya.
"Call Byakuya." He demanded and lifted his pipe. 'It seems his relationship with the Uchiha clan is deepening...' He thought, looking down at the scroll where it detailed Byakuya entering an Uchiha elder's house.
Not long after, a knock resounded from the door.
Clearing his throat, Hiruzen spoke. "Come in."
Byakuya walked in and closed the door behind him. "Hokage-Sama. You called for me?" He spoke, slightly bowing.
Hiruzen nodded. "Yes. The frontlines are getting active again. I want you to return there." He spoke, carefully examining the boy's expression.
Byakuya nodded slightly. "When must I depart, Hokage-Sama?" he asked.
Hiruzen nodded to himself. 'So the boy doesn't really care...' "You will depart as soon as possible. But go to Sunagakure's border." Hiruzen calmly spoke.
Byakuya frowned at that, but nonetheless agreed and stepped out of the office.
'Guess I have no choice.' Byakuya mused, walking towards his house to pack what he needs for the travels.
---
a Few days later, Byakuya reached the Platoon stationed close to Suna's borders.
He quickly made his way to the Captain's office and found a Blond middle aged man looking through different scrolls. Clearing his throat, Byakuya captures the Captain's attention.
The Captain looked up from the scrolls and smiled at Byakuya. "Ah, Kuchiki Byakuya. I've been informed of your stationing by the Hokage." He nodded. "As you can see, I'm swamped with tasks. Suna has started giving us a real headache these last few weeks." As he spoke, he massaged his forehead.
Byakuya glanced at the scrolls and nodded, not commenting.
Seeing the small talk going nowhere, the Captain picks up a scroll from the pile and hands it to Byakuya. "a Camp settled inside Suna's borders had asked for reinforcements. We're currently short of hands and seeing as how you have enough power, I'll be sending you to be the reinforcement."
Byakuya took the scroll and read its contents. It was a cry for help. The camp was only for scouting, having no Jonin-Ranked among them and they spotted a team of Suna ninjas closing in.
"Very well. Excuse me, Captain." Byakuya nodded and tucked the scroll away before exiting the building. He quickly takes a stop at the supply station and fills up on pills.
'Alright... Let's go.' He thought and started his journey.
---
'It's quiet...' Byakuya thought as he stood atop a tree, gazing at the small camp settlement in front of him. He spotted three young ninjas moving to and from the tents. Shaking his head, Byakuya jumped off the tree and calmly approached the ninjas.
One ninja turned his head toward Byakuya and lifted his hand, motioning to Byakuya to come towards him.
Frowning, Byakuya walked up to him. "I'm here for the reinforcement mission."
"Just you?"
a Sneer came from behind Byakuya, who reacted quickly and summond his Zanpakuto, turning around to face whoever spoke. 'The hell...' Nobody was there.
Glancing back, Byakuya noticed the previous ninja missing. "Scatter... Senbonzakura." He opted to summon his Shikai form, having no clue who he's up against.
"Funny little boy."
Another voice from behind, but Byakuya didn't fall for it. He closed his eyes and concentrated on sensing the enemies' chakra.
'To the left!' Snapping his eyes open, Byakuya raises petals to the left of him as defense, while trying to make out who the enemy is.
"Gotcha..."
*Shick!*
a Voce comes from his right, followed by a stinging pain.
Byakuya waved his hand and the petals followed, instantly swarming to his right, hoping to catch the man.
But no luck. The petals only crashed against the ground. Glancing down, Byakuya saw a Kunai sticking out of his side, blood gushing through his wound.
"Tsk."