Chapter 13
Chapter 13
“Uchiha Naori,” Danzo stated and looked at Hiruzen who raised a silent eyebrow in question. Neither man was particularly happy about the situation but there weren’t any better jounin on the roster to handle the volatile team. Hatake was too young to be a jounin-sensei and he was currently in Root, so unavailable for the moment. No Uchiha would be willing to teach Izumi how to wield her eyes, except another half-blood and the only one with any measure of trust in either man’s eyes was the Mizu born girl who had been recovered during the closing days of the third war.
“She’s the perfect jounin for the team. The Uchiha clan acknowledged her fully after she took down three rogue Uchiha and Fugaku even sponsored her eye transplant after she went blind. A role as a jounin sensei is the perfect way for her to recover and relearn her skills as her new eyes take.” Hiruzen explained and Danzo’s fingers tightened slightly on his cane. The Uchiha were a threat to Konoha, the clan was an uncontrolled wildfire that nothing could seem to contain.
“But she is an Uchiha.” Danzo rasped and Hiruzen nodded. The two knew the truth behind the infamous clan. They were cursed, rabid dogs who would eventually burn anything they touched. They had aided Konoha in all three wars but their temperamental nature and arrogance were a threat that could not be ignored for much longer. With the current balance of power, the Uchiha were no longer the vital asset they once were. Iwagakure still didn’t have a jounin corps, not after what Minato had done to them in the last war and Mizu no kuni was embroiled in a civil war so bloody the scale of the fighting resembled the warring clans period, a level of violence that hadn’t been seen on the continent in nearly a century.
“Her nature is that of the Isles, of Mizu. She was not raised in the clan, she does not share their arrogance or temperament.” Hiruzen pointed out because while it was true he had confined the woman to the Uchiha district, even the Uchiha didn’t accept her as one of them. Sure officially they did and Fugaku had given her the eyes of one of the rogue Uchiha she had hunted down to replace her own blinded sharingan but they still silently loathed her.
“You think it may be possible to salvage something of the cursed clan?” Danzo asked and Hiruzen hummed noncommittally. The truth was they both held the same level of distrust for the second founding clan.
The Uchiha were arrogant, volatile and bitter. The last legitimate clan head had been the first modern missing nin and the stories Tobirama had told of the man’s second in command still gave Hiruzen the occasional nightmare. The clan were demons wearing human skin, but Hiruzen knew that demons could be tamed and turned into powerful weapons once properly leashed.
“I think that it is worth trying, Tobirama’s great granddaughter is at stake after all.” Hiruzen had always been the more sentimental of the two of them. Danzo saw it as a weakness but Hiruzen knew that the Shimura was prone to his own prejudice and could not see the world beyond his narrow lens. He was useful during times of war but had no understanding of how to rule during peace and was too quick to take the final measure.
“It is a shame her father decided to taint Senju blood with-”
“Enough,” Hiruzen cut Danzo off and glared at the man. Speaking ill of the dead, especially one who had died protecting the village from the Kyubi was beyond unacceptable. True, Hiruzen wasn’t happy over who the man had married but he didn’t have a say in the matter and the girl was the only Senju in the village who could still actually claim the name as a direct descendant of the main family.
“If you intend to keep them, you’ll have to remove them from the clan.” Danzo stated and Hiruzen knew what the man was going to say next. Danzo had been itching to get his hands on Izumi since her father died and he had already seized Sakura once. Anko would be Danzo’s replacement for Orochimaru as the girl had been his apprentice and a prodigy in her own right. Uchiha Naori was loyal as well and unwelcome within the Uchiha clan proper. The entire team was an ideal acquisition for Danzo’s vaunted Root.
“What I said remains, only if Sakura accepts your offer.” Hiruzen’s presence unfurled and then pressed down upon Danzo. The other man staggered momentarily. For all Danzo had tried to set himself up as Hiruzen’s rival and equal, it was only true in the political sense. As shinobi they had never been on even footing. Hiruzen was the second god of shinobi, The Professor, master of all five elements while Danzo was merely a shadow, a true shinobi but not a titan of battle by any means.
“And the rest of the team?” Danzo asked and Hiruzen’s pressure increased by a step. He knew that if he gave an inch, Danzo would take a mile and he’d already given ground. He could hand Izumi over easily enough but Anko would simply become a second Orochimaru, worse perhaps since Danzo would be more careful in molding her and would have her at a younger age. Naori was older but age was no issue for Root’s conditioning program, not truly.
“Danzo, I gave you permission to approach the young Haruno. The rest…” Hiruzen trailed off and then looked out the office’s window. From here he could see the whole village, the tower was a cylinder and the room he was in had windows facing outward in all directions. In the distance, the Uchiha ghetto was peaceful on the surface, though Hiruzen knew that rebellion was smoldering within. The clan had been isolated after the Kyubi’s attack, a necessary precaution but their pride had turned poisonous and Hiruzen knew they were fomenting rebellion. “As for the rest, we cannot take action without alerting the Uchiha. We can only hope they remain loyal to the village.”
“A foolish gamble,” Danzo turned to leave but stopped at the door. His one remaining eye peered at Hiruzen, though they both knew what lay under the bandages on the right side of his face. The Hyuga lived within Konoha after all and nothing could be hidden from their all seeing eyes. “When the Uchiha need to be put down, I will be collecting Izumi at least.”
“You cannot have Mitarashi, I won’t have you creating a second Orochimaru.” Hiruzen countered and Danzo’s lips twisted with annoyance, though the expression has hidden from the hokage’s sight as he had his back to the other man. Hiruzen watched Danzo stand motionless for several long seconds before he reached for the door.
“Very well,” Danzo agreed and opened the door, disappearing from Hiruzen’s sight. The hokage took in a deep breath and thought over the conversation with a grimace. Naori had the mangekyo, a resource that Danzo would not leave untapped. The woman might survive, but Uchiha with such eyes had an infamously short life expectancy and their missions often ended in tragedy. A necessity to ensure they didn’t live long enough to go insane.
***
The four kunoichi of Team 7 had left the academy and moved across Konohagakure until they arrived at a large, flooded training field. Mangrove trees rose high overhead and the water was cooler then the air around them, creating a pleasant layer of damp air that contrasted sharply with the heat of early summer. The smell of earth, water and salt was thick in the air and Sakura felt at home in a way she couldn’t truly place.
“This is Konoha’s infamous training ground 47 also known as the Swamp of Death. Not to be confused with the forest of death, but equally unpleasant for the unprepared.” Naori spoke with a calm voice and her smile was slight, though more pronounced then the ones Itachi usually wore. The woman was beautiful and poised, her outfit a long, loose, navy blue cloak cinched at the waist to hide the armor Sakura saw occasionally printed against the cloth underneath. She had two swords at her waist, double bladed tsurugi, weapons that had been considered ancient even by Madara’s time. They had fallen out of favor due to their shorter reach and general ineffectiveness against armor but in this day an age, with armor having been cast to the wayside, Sakura imagined they were quite effective.
“As for introductions, I’m Uchiha Naori, though among my jounin peers, I’m more commonly known as Chigiri no Naori. Something I think one of you will share with me soon enough.” Naori’s voice was light and her smile still easy as she ‘looked’ towards Sakura. There was pride on her face, subtle but present. Naori didn’t loath or reject who she was, despite the stigma that was attached to her heritage.
The older Uchiha was the perfect sensei for the current Team 7, since all three kunoichi were pariahs in their own right. Izumi was disliked by the village for her Uchiha blood while the Uchiha rejected her for her Senju heritage. Anko was Orochimaru’s apprentice, a snake just waiting to betray her village, at least to the public’s perception. Sakura was a civilian born but her overly sharp teeth, her bright pink hair, the foreign shape of her face and her rosy complexion made it obvious she didn’t belong, at least to the xenophobic majority.
“I’m a genjutsu and kenjutsu specialist and my style focuses on killing my enemies quickly and silently. I’ve always wanted my own genin team and now that I’ve finally been promoted to jounin, I’ve got one.” Naori said as she settled on the branches of a mangrove tree gracefully. Anko, who had graduated already and knew about the second test gathered her courage and asked the question that had been burning in the back of her mind since she’d been assigned to a fresh team.
“Are we getting the second test?” Anko asked and Naori hummed, her smile becoming slightly playful as she considered the question. Her purple hair shifted as she tilted her head, her smile widening.
“I think,” Naori paused, drawing out the tension quite intentionally. Sakura felt her chakra swirl in amusement, hot and powerful, like lava slamming into the ocean. It was alive and decidedly different then anyone she’d felt before, yet still distinctly Uchiha. Unlike Izumi who lacked a fire affinity, Naori had flames within her chakra, though it was decidedly the thick, volcanic fires of the isles that burned with noxious abandoned. “I’ll skip that. Mostly because I know you deserve to pass. Sakura was kidnapped by Orochimaru and didn’t crack or even take any time off from the academy. Uchiha Izumi is the clan prodigy’s sparring partner, much to Fugaku-sama’s distress.”
“And let’s not forget you, Mitarashi Anko, apprentice of the great traitor and a prodigy in your own right. No, there is no point in testing you. You are all worthy of those headbands and I won’t demean you by even implying otherwise but do not get arrogant. Worthiness can wane, not all change is positive, do not let your guard down or let your drive falter.” Naori looked over the three kunoichi and smiled.
With just a few words, she had firmly entrenched herself as an authority figure in their minds. Training children to be proper shinobi required earning their trust and respect first and foremost. Most kids were not self motivating and while the trio before her were, if Naori wanted them to listen to her in the field, she’d have to start by getting them realize she understood what they were capable of and what they lacked. Respect cut both ways after all.
“Now I want to hear from each of you what skills you have, what you lack and what you want to learn. I know some of you have sparing partners and teachers beyond the academy and I would appreciate it if you invited them to a team meeting in say a week or so.” Naori gave all three girls a distinct look, meeting their gaze with her bandaged eyes despite being temporarily blind.
It was a subtle show of skill, a statement that even blind she had no trouble navigating the world around them. Sakura was silently impressed because for an Uchiha, being capable of fighting blind was a statement of resolve. Naori would keep fighting, even after her flames devoured her light. Furthermore, Naori’s chakra was calm, seemingly devoid of the curse that so often struck their clan.
“Which one of you would like to go first?” Naori asked and Sakura glanced to Izumi and then to Anko. Anko grinned far too wide, eyes narrowing dangerously and she raised her hand. Sakura didn’t know Anko at all, but she knew the girl was brave beyond words. She had betrayed Orochimaru because her own sense of justice could not abide his atrocities any longer and for that alone she had Sakura’s near eternal respect.
“Mitarashi Anko, I’m pretty skilled with snake summons I think.” Anko frowned and her nose twitched with annoyance. It was clear her self esteem had been crushed by recent events and her hand slid to her neck where Sakura glimpsed an odd seal peaking out from the collar of her shirt. “I’m okay with taijutsu, specifically hebi style. I’m decent with genjutsu and katon release.”
“I don’t have great endurance anymore or large reserves…” Anko’s fingers scraped at her neck and Sakura could feel a pulse of tainted chakra. It was sickeningly familiar and she knew whatever that seal was, Orochimaru had put it there. Worse it contained his chakra and Anko could feel it. “I had good chakra control but that’s shot to.”
“Alright, what would you like to improve?” Naori asked and Anko sucked in a sharp breath. Sakura could read the truth in Anko’s eyes because for all her bravado she was ten and couldn’t hide her fear. Anko swallowed and looked at Naori with large nervous eyes.
“Everything. I want my chakra to be mine again and then I want to become ANBU and hunt him down.” Anko whispered, as if she was afraid of her own goal. Naori considered the girl silently for several long seconds and the color drained from Anko’s face as she did so. Whatever Naori saw seemed to please her however and she gave a slight nod.
“We’ll work on it, though it will be an uphill battle to earn trust in this village.” Naori warned and Anko nodded, clearly aware of the challenges she’d have to face. Her hand finally dropped from her shoulder as her chakra settled and Naori shifted her attention to the other two kunoichi.
“I’m trying to create my own nin-kenjutsu style and I am trying to mix puppetry into my shurikenjutsu.” Izumi admitted and Naori’s interest was instantly peaked. The woman was a daughter of Mizu and kenjutsu was her birthright, same as Sakura. Swords were sacred in their homeland, more then just weapons, they considered extensions of the soul. Thus for a genin to be trying to create her own form of kenjutsu was both ambitious and deeply interesting. “I’ve got terrible chakra reserves though and my sharingan are parasitic.”
“I want to master my own way of fighting,” Izumi glanced to Sakura and shot her a small smile. Their conversation had crystallized Izumi’s resolve. She would no longer chase after her Uchiha heritage, trying to prove she was something she wasn’t. Instead she would forge her own path to greatness. “I want to perfect my chakra control, master my elements and perfect my own style. I would like to mix genjutsu into it as well but I’ve only just started learning.”
“I would be honored to assist you in creating a new form of kenjutsu.” Naori’s smile was warm and dangerous, her lips pulled back to reveal her too sharp teeth and Sakura knew if the woman’s eyes were uncovered they’d be glittering dangerously. The rosette could understand though, Izumi’s idea had promise and Sakura had already dedicated herself to assisting Izumi in realizing it. After all the theory could be applied to any bladed weapon, even a scythe.
Sakura was the last one left and Naori’s attention fell upon her. The jounin didn’t say anything but Sakura knew it was her turn to speak.
“I’m um, still learning.” Sakura said quietly and glanced at Izumi. The truth was, while she had graduated second in her year, just behind Izumi, the gap between her physical capabilities and Izumi’s was immense. Sure their chakra reserves were comparable because Sakura was expending them twice a day thanks to her time travel and thus they were growing twice as fast, but she was still only five years old. Izumi was faster, stronger, more experienced and while she wasn’t smarter, she was certainly more mature.
“Well you are quite young.” Naori agreed and her grin told Sakura the woman had heard of her challenge to Uchiha Fugaku. The rosette quickly rallied herself and straightened her back, steel lining her spine as she looked straight at her new jounin sensei.
“I want to master fuinjutsu and iryo-ninjutsu. I am helping Izumi with her nin-kenjutsu though I intend to apply it to a different weapon. I also have summons.” Sakura knew that particular ability was already a matter of record, even if it wasn’t public knowledge. Naori certainly had access to Sakura’s file as her jounin sensei and would know that Sakura had signed a contract with the tigers. Of course Sakura wasn’t sure if she could trust the woman with the fact she had kitsune summons, so she’d wait and see before bringing them up.
“Summons at your ages.” Naori glanced to Anko and then back to Sakura, giving both girls sympathetic looks. Sakura knew that summons at a young age would have a large impact on her body, though exactly how that would manifest was a mystery to her. “Puberty will not be easy for either of you, especially you Sakura.”
“I um, I’ve been told.” Sakura said quietly and Naori gave her a small nod. “So, can you help me?”
“Yes, I’ll get a few lessons scheduled for you at the hospital so you can learn iryou ninjutsu and first aid. The field medic program technically still exists after all and considering your prodigy status, nobody will argue with your placement within it.” Naori rose to her feet and her demeanor instantly shifted. Her smile melted off her face as her chakra suddenly vanished from Sakura’s senses. A chill swept down Sakura’s spine and she could feel Izumi and Anko preparing for a fight. “Now that I’ve heard your skills, let us put them to the test. If any of you can land a blow on me, I’ll be buying lunch for all of us. If you fail, we’ll take our first D rank.”
“A D rank?” Anko whispered and Naori’s answering grin was all teeth and impending violence. “We’ve got to hit her, no matter what it takes! D ranks are the worst!”
Sakura and Izumi exchanged glances before Izumi drew her blade, chakra flickering along its edge and Sakura pulled out a brace of shuriken. Naori’s smile sharpened further and then on a silent signal, genin and jounin leapt at each other, weapons flying through the air and chakra flowing into jutsu.
***
Madara felt Sakura appear as his consciousness finally began to solidify. His eyes fluttered open to reveal the girl looking battered by happy. She had a bruise blossoming on her left cheekbone, splotchy yellow and brown offsetting the usual rosy skin. Sakura’s sleeping yukata was also a bit more haphazard then usual, as if she’d thrown it on in a hurry or perhaps tossed and turned in her sleep, not that she slept of course.
“What happened?” Madara asked, rising into a sitting position and bracing a leg against the floor so he could rest his elbow on his knee and prop up his chin. Sakura answered him with a massive grin, her chakra buzzing excitedly.
“I got assigned to a team! In my village you know, shinobi work in small teams. It’s not like here, with large scale armies and stuff. Instead everyone works in small groups, usually four to six people.” Sakura explained and Madara listened as Sakura described the graduation requirements.
In short, they were pathetically easy, since she had been cleared for missions at the age of five. While the Uchiha might use children as extra hands during battles, they weren’t there to fight but rather run messages, ferry around supplies and recover the wounded. It was still dangerous but there was a stark contrast to Sakura’s village which seemed perfectly content just throwing a child into the deep end and declaring them an adult.
“I don’t mean to insult your home but sending a five year old on missions meant for twelve years olds is…” Madara didn’t even have words for that. Kagami hadn’t been sent into battle proper until she was eight and even then, she wasn’t sent into heavy combat. She just had the misfortune of constantly being posted wherever the Senju ended up infiltrating. She’d earned her reputation by sheer happenstance. It wasn’t fair and now Sakura was being intentionally placed in a similar position. It ate at Madara’s nerves, even if he didn’t voice his worries, after all making Sakura fearful wouldn’t help the situation.
“Stupid? Dumb? A bad idea? Yup,” Sakura nodded and then shook her head. The truth was she already had a plan, one that would hopefully see her alive and safely away from any fighting, in her time at least. “I’m going to rush to chunin and then take up a post in the hospital until I’m older.”
“That’s actually a good idea.” Madara admitted after a brief pause as he imagined Sakura in hilariously over sized healer’s robes, trying to corral patients twice her size. It was an instantly hysterical image and Madara had to force down a wave of laughter. He didn’t want to upset her after all or make her think her idea was somehow humorous because the situation was deadly serious.
“I know, my sensei has promised to keep training with me even after I reach chunin and my teammates are awesome. You’d like them, I think.” Sakura knew that Madara wouldn’t necessarily befriend her teammates if they ever met. Anko was all frantic energy and childish antics while Izumi would likely get along with him, if he didn’t attack her on sight. She looked quite Senju after all.
“Your sensei doesn’t train you until you’ve mastered everything they have to offer? That’s not a sensei that’s…” Madara paused, considering his words carefully. The truth was, the more he heard about Sakura’s home village the more worried he became. The place sounded deeply flawed and it definitely wasn’t heaven. He was certain now she wasn’t a tennyo but she couldn’t be a youkai, Tajima never would have taken her in if she was a threat. Then again she could be a friendly youkai and Sakura did appear rather fae, but somehow he doubted it.
“Jounin do not pass on their personal skills. They’re expected to bring their genin up to chunin level, but there is no requirement for them to actually teach jutsu or skills. In fact they only have to get one of their genin to chunin level and the rest can be shuffled onto other teams or into the genin corps depending upon the whims of their sensei and clan influence. Civilian born, uh, ashigaru? Ashigaru kids who don’t have clans backing them usually get shafted.” Sakura explained and Madara frowned because the entire system seemed blatantly nonsensical to him.
It was clearly a system designed for nepotism, which wasn’t itself wasn’t an issue, at least to a clan child’s eyes, but rather it was the disingenuous feigning of equal opportunity that offended him. Students under the same teacher or school should be treated equally. If you have different clans being mixed together as allies and learning from the same sensei, favoritism should not be shown or accepted. It was one thing to take in a member of another clan or share a few tips and pointers among allies but a village like Sakura’s was a permanent fixture. It was wrong in a way that promised continuous disenfranchisement and systemic inequality.
“I think I do not much like your village. It seems nasty and without honor.” Madara said and Sakura frowned before nodding in agreement. He knew Sakura was loyal, that she would defend the Uchiha to her death and hadn’t abandoned him when they were attacked. For her to not even argue against a slight to her village spoke to just how bad things were.
“Shall we change the subject? It is breakfast time.” Sakura’s tone was slightly clipped but Madara couldn’t blame her. He had insulted her village, which was kind of like insulting her clan even if her village clearly failed to take care of its own.
“Alright, sorry I upset you.” Madara grumbled and Sakura gave him a warm smile, his words forgiven instantly. He smiled back and the two quickly made their way down to the dining room where Tajima and Izuna were waiting for them. Tajima was his usual calm self, while Izuna was looking between Madara and Sakura curiously.
“Chichi, why does Sakura-nee-chan have pink hair? She don’ look Uchiha.” Izuna asked, the three year old’s eyes focused on the girl. They narrowed slightly, suspicion and fear dancing within his onyx gaze. Tajima, who had been deep in thought shifted his attention to his youngest son.
“She is a ward of the clan, a member through deed and blood shed in defense of the clan. She is not Uchiha by birth but by chakra and by choice.” Tajima explained, though his words were clearly lost on the three year old. Izuna blinked and then looked at Sakura again, suspicious as ever.
“But she doesn’t look like us. She’s scary, maybe she’s a youkai! She’s got sharp teeth, what if she eats somebody?” Izuna asked, his words like a slap across the face to Sakura who had only just started to accept her Mizu heritage. Tajima’s mood instantly soured and his gaze turned icy as he looked at his youngest child.
“It would seen, it’s time to begin your training Izuna. The first thing you’re going to learn is that clan is more then just blood and Sakura is clan. We are not the Senju, we will not turn our backs on our own or create outcasts among our number. The Uchiha are a family and family does not call family a youkai.” Tajima’s voice took on the same harsh tone Sakura associated with the battlefield. It was jarring to see this side of Tajima in a setting where he was usually all calm smiles and relaxed words. Madara frowned, looking at his little brother with a mix of disappointment and worry. Izuna’s words were the ignorant ramblings of a child but they had hurt Sakura and he didn’t know who was more precious to him at this point, if he could even chose.
“It’s alright Madara, he’s only just turned three.” Sakura said, trying to play it off but Madara could see the hurt in her eyes. Izuna had always been somewhat distant towards her, just a bit frightened and shy but until now Madara had chalked it up to the usual moods that tended to grip such young children.
“It’s really not. He needs to learn, you’re family Sakura, clan. That means something and the sooner he understand that, the better.” Madara took Sakura’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Sakura relaxed, her nerves fading somewhat though he could tell she was going to throw herself into training the moment they got outside. It was how she dealt with stress, how all of them dealt with it actually. “Spar with me after breakfast?”
“I’d like that,” Sakura gave him a grateful smile, her mood brightening somewhat and Madara felt a wave of relief. She’d been genuinely upset but it seemed none of her progress over the year he’d known her had been undone. Drawing her out of her shell had been a lot of hard work and he liked seeing his best friend open and confident rather then shy and withdrawn.