Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Madara wasn’t sure what to expect from Sakura when he followed her out onto the training field. The rosette was radiating eager energy and Tajima was oddly pensive. Taking up his usual stance, Madara watched as the girl slid into a stance Madara didn’t recognize. Her chakra swirled and hummed, buzzing at her fingertips and snapping dangerously, ready to attack at the slightest provocation.
“The gentle fist is truly timeless then.” Tajima murmured, just barely loud enough for Madara to hear. His father was watching them today and Madara knew why as he looked at Sakura’s stance. This was the Hyuga’s signature technique and somehow Sakura had seen it close enough to copy with her sharingan. Of course she couldn’t copy it perfectly, she would be unable to target the tenketsu accurately or even the chakra network but as practice for fighting the real thing it would be perfect. “Begin!”
Madara dodged a rapid thrust as Sakura shot forward. She slid over the ground, her feet sheathed in chakra, allowing her to get far more traction from each step then otherwise possible. Madara did his best to avoid her fingertips, her chakra buzzing whenever it neared him but never quite breaking free. Across from him, Sakura’s lips slowly pulled into a wide smile as she realized she had the upper hand and her speed increased yet again.
‘Damn it.’ Madara thought as one of her fingers grazed his arm. A burst of chakra flashed through his vision and he saw Sakura drive a spike of her own energy into his skin. Pain erupted from the spot and the muscle twitched as if it’d been stabbed. Hissing, Madara swept Sakura’s feet from under her. She was so focused on the offensive she had let her defense slip and hit the ground hard but quickly rolled away before he could deliver a follow up stomp.
Jumping back to her feet, Sakura shot forward and Madara grinned, hands coming together in a familiar sequence of seals. He knew Sakura would avoid the flames, they had practiced against each other often enough and her sharingan were active so he breathed out a fireball without fear of injuring his friend. The girl’s charge stopped and her chakra flared, building up all across her body and yet she hadn’t avoided the fireballs just yet. Madara watched, horrified as the fireball closed on her, then she spun, chakra pulsing out from her in a blast that tore his jutsu apart and dug a pit several inches into the dirt around her.
“What?” Madara gasped as Sakura wobbled slightly. It was obvious she was dizzy and her chakra was very low as well, having expended most of it on her technique.
“That is the effect of perfect chakra control. The Hyuga kekkei genkai allows for chakra to be emitted from any of the body’s tenketsu even without perfect control. Sakura has perfect control, so she can achieve the same effect. I never considered this but…” Tajima’s voice trailed off as he walked onto the training field and over to the girl. Sakura was slowly steadying herself, her chakra reserves gradually refilling as she caught her breath. Much like physical stamina, so long as you didn’t expend too much of your reserves, chakra would recover fairly quickly, especially with the eagle's breathing technique.
“What is it father?” Sakura asked, momentarily forgetting her manners. It was something she had always wanted, a family without need for formality, people who loved each other unconditionally and she had that in Madara, Shisui and her team but Tajima had always seemed just out of reach. Even his sons called him chichiue.
“I’m not sure, your chakra control is unprecedented among Uchiha. The Senju have always had good control, though they prefer to make use of it for more efficient ninjutsu rather then the other options available. Nin-taijutsu like the gentle fist are very, very rare and almost universally more effective then traditional taijutsu. Being able to kill with a touch and a burst of chakra is much harder to fight against then dodging a punch that needs to build up momentum and have weight behind it.” Tajima didn’t comment on Sakura’s casual language, nor did he reprimand her for it. Whether that meant it was okay or he was overlooking it was a mystery to everyone but him though.
“So Sakura could develop her own nin-taijutsu?” Madara knew his best friend was amazing, but he had never considered that she could develop a whole new way of fighting. Madara looked at Sakura and grinned while Sakura just shifted about nervously. She had come so far since Madara had started teaching her and while she didn’t quite match him in skill or chakra reserves, her chakra control and sheer physical strength surpassed his.
“You can as well, you share her talents for chakra control and in exchange she has inherited your fire.” Tajima reached over the table and took each child’s left hand in one of his own. “Concentrated on your left hands.” Both children focused and the seals that bound them slowly came to life. Neither had really noticed the markings before, as they had always shown up when they were focused on something else. “You are linked through these seals, your chakra and potential bound to one another. You were given a gift from by the kami themselves and you should never forget that, nor should you fail to make use of it.”
Neither child had anything to say after those words and Madara looked at his left hand. He remembered how his chakra would occasionally become laced with the feel of mint and would suddenly obey his every whim. This seal allowed him access to Sakura’s unique chakra control while she had become an Uchiha in chakra and her eyes now reflected that.
“We should each create our own style.” Madara said suddenly and felt all eyes on him. Izuna had by now left his training and clamped onto his older brother’s side. “We should each create a unique style of nin-taijutsu and then copy it from each other, that way we’ll have three styles to fall back on. Uchiha style, Sakura style and Madara style or um, we can come up with better names but you get the point.”
“The clan isn’t very good at naming, we call our taijutsu style satsujinken, literally murderous fist and we call our kenjutsu style satsujinken, different kanji but it means murderous sword.” Tajima explained, a wry smile curling his lips upwards. Madara rolled his eyes because while true that the Uchiha had a rather literal way with names, he wasn’t about to name his style after himself. That just felt childish, never mind that he was a few months away from being six years old, he was above such things.
“So when do we we start?” Madara asked, forgetting the rather important trial in his very near future. Tajima gave him an amused smile, proud to see his son so intent on self improvement and innovation. Madara wasn’t Kagami and he would never expect his son to live up to the standards she had set, however he was still immensely proud of his son’s accomplishments and growth. Madara was open minded, his sister had taught him that before her death but to his credit he hadn’t abandoned her beliefs and was even now building on them. Soon enough Tajima expected to see the boy start trying to study fuinjutsu and create new ninjutsu, both out of his own curiosity and a desire to live up to his sister’s legacy.
“Well how about after you two defeat the Hyuga in an honor duel?” Tajima asked and Madara let out a huff. He’d forgotten in his excitement that they had a fight to prepare for. The Hyuga didn’t want to risk open war. They were recovering from their own battles and were trying to make the Uchiha seem weak in an effort to divert attention away from their own battered forces.
“Oh, yeah that.” Madara grumbled, slumping slightly before gathering himself and turning to face Sakura. Slowly, he pried Izuna off his side and handed the three year old off to Tajima who sent the boy back to practicing kata. “Another round?”
“Let’s dance,” Sakura answered, her shark toothed grin all the encouragement Madara needed to bring up his own guard. The two children smiled at each other, eyes crimson and tomoe spinning lazily before they charged.
***
The day of the duel was cool for Hi no Kuni and the trip to the royal capital was anything but comfortable. The Uchiha that were escorting them were all decked out in full combat kit, as were Madara, Tajima and Sakura. The group moved through the trees in a tight formation, crossing the countryside at a rapid clip to avoid easy interception, sharingan scanning the way ahead for any threats or ambushes.
When they finally reached the rice fields that surrounded Hikyo, the group slowed and began marching along the patrolled roads. Madara had never seen clanless shinobi before, at least not in such great number as they passed them steadily on the road. They made up the bulk of the Daimyo’s forces and moved up and down the highway. Honor-less mercenaries without principal or creed, loyal only to the Daimyo’s coin. They took on missions for the highest bidder, never questioning what they were being asked to do so long as the pay matched the difficulty involved.
At his side, Madara could feel Sakura’s nerves and contemplation whenever she saw these unaffiliated shinobi. It was a deep seated unease, as if she was trying to divine the very future from just a few scant pieces of information. Madara wasn’t sure why she cared so much though, the Daimyo were relics of the past, their power broken and their wealth waning by the year. The only reason any of them were marginally relevant were the massive cities that were nominally the capital of each of the great countries.
Hikyo was surrounded by a massive square wall with towering gatehouses placed at regular intervals. Madara could feel the remnants of chakra in the ancient stone. The city had once been the heart of the samurai culture in Hi no Kuni but the samurai had grown fat and lazy from centuries of peace. The clans had taken advantage of this to hoard power and land for themselves until they were no longer under the control of the capital and the daimyo’s power was naught but a distant memory.
“Those walls won’t stop shinobi.” Madara said as they passed through the gatehouse. The truth was the walls wouldn’t even slow a ninja but they might stop poorly trained ashigaru. It was up in the air really, since most Ashigaru at least knew enough to walk on trees and other solid surfaces. Water was stretching it but some of the more talented ones could manage it.
“No but they’re not meant to. It’s about denying support. If the defenders have samurai and shinobi alongside their ashigaru while the attackers have to leave their ashigaru outside the walls, the defenders will have the advantage.” Tajima explained as they walked through the streets of the city. Slums lined the walls and the buildings were all older and poorly kept. Still even impoverished, the city was bustling with people going about their day, vendors hawking their wears and carts moving about.
The Uchiha party quickly took to the city’s rooftops, avoiding the squalor and crossing the massive city in the blink of an eye. Sakura had been to the capital once before, though she couldn’t really remember it all that well. She’d spent most of the time either in the Haruno quarters at the royal palace or within a carriage so she hadn’t really seen the city. Now though she was getting a clear view of Hikyo and she was incredibly glad she didn’t call it home.
Madara would have agreed with Sakura if he knew her thoughts. The city was unsettling and impersonal. Everyone on the streets below seemed lost in their own bubble, anonymous amidst a sea of humanity. It was unsettling for someone who had been raised as a part of a massive family. Even if Madara didn’t know everyone in the clan, he was at least tied to them. They were a family, a people, a nation unto themselves. They shared a common destiny and their triumphs and hardships were communal. Here the people simply existed adjacent to the daimyo, a result of decades of accrued power with nothing other then the circumstance of geography tying them together.
“There are two more walls before the palace.” Sakura said quietly and Madara looked ahead to find she was right. The city was divided, much like the Uchiha fortress and within the second wall the buildings grew nicer and the streets cleaner. Obviously better off individuals walked about, men and women in kimonos, many wearing civilian clan emblems or the daimyo’s crest. The third ring of walls housed the palace complex which was almost large enough to be a city in itself. The place was a vast complex of offices that had once administered the entirety of Hi no Kuni but now gathered dust and spoke of history long since past.
Other chakra signatures began to appear on the edge of Madara’s senses and the Uchiha finally arrived at the greeting area set up for the duel. The other major clans of the surrounding territories had all sent representatives to watch and Madara’s eyes moved over the crowd. He spotted Butsuma, though the man hadn’t risked any of his sons on the trip, wise though unexpected from the combative man. The Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi were all present, as were the Aburame, Inuzuka and Hatake clans. A man with long snowy white hair with a crest Sakura didn’t recognize stood off to the side near the Senju, a girl around Sakura and Madara’s age with bright crimson hair standing next to him.
“Madara, wait here while I get things sorted out.” Tajima ordered and approached the Hyuga clan head. Madara glanced around, unsurprised by the lack of children his age. The only one child that wasn’t about to take part in the duel was the redheaded girl who was looking at him and Sakura curiously. She was clearly of the Uzumaki clan, though Madara wasn’t sure why the famously reclusive clan had decided to come to the mainland for such a duel.
“Which clan is that?” Sakura asked quietly, nodding at the Uzumaki. The girl’s ignorance wasn’t a surprise, she wasn’t from Hi after all, at least as far as Madara could tell. Her teeth spoke of the isles and if she wasn’t a tennyo or youkai, Mizu no Kuni was naturally his next guess as to where she came from.
“The Uzumaki, they’re fuinjutsu masters.” Madara explained and Sakura looked at their emblem. It was something she’d seen nearly every day of her life, on the back of every konoha flak jacket including her own. Why a clan’s emblem was part of Konoha’s field armor was a mystery when even the Senju and Uchiha clan emblems didn’t appear but Sakura’s curiosity was definitely piqued.
“The match will take place soon and then there will be a celebratory dinner.” Tajima’s voice interrupted the two children and they turned to their father to find him looking annoyed. It was obvious the Hyuga had manipulated things to maximize their advantage, as the stated date for the duel was tomorrow. Still they couldn’t back down, not in front of so many clans.
Without another word, the entire entourage made their way to a ceremonial arena in full view of the royal court. The Hyuga clan alone looked fresh from travel, apparently they had given out the wrong date not just to the Uchiha but to every clan present. It was a small consolation that their subterfuge would be known, though if Madara lost it would mean more battles and skirmishes on their border. Even if Sakura won her match, seconds were usually viewed as less important because they weren’t the clan heir and often they weren’t even the spare.
“Will the two combatants approach the ring.” A nasally voice called out and Madara looked towards the man he knew to the be daimyo. He looked like a weasel, with graying orange hair and a narrow, harry face. He was rather unkempt, which made little sense for a man whose appearance should have been part of his power. It was a jarring visual, but one Madara quickly forgot as he looked towards the older Hyuga heir. The boy had dark brown hair, pearlescent eyes and no slave crest on his forehead.
“The rules are simple, disable your opponent and win! No weapons or jutsu are allowed!” The Daimyo called out and Madara wanted to grit his teeth with rage. This was so obviously a ploy by the Hyuga to fix the fight. Not only was their heir older, but without jutsu and weapons the gentle fist was nearly unbeatable. It was only Madara’s armor that would give him a fighting chance in this battle. “Are both fighters ready?”
‘No,’ Madara thought grimly but gave the mouse of a man a nod. He brought his fists up and remembered what he learned from fighting Sakura. The girl had struck immediately, every single time. The Hyuga tried to claim the initiative and once they had it, they would attack until their opponent fell. Their byakugan made it difficult to surprise them, since it could see the movement of muscle and chakra but the Hyuga weren’t the only clan with a doujutsu that allowed for a kind of foresight.
“Begin!” Madara’s sharingan had already spun to life before the call out was made. The Hyuga heir darted forward but Madara matched his speed. He could see the Hyuga’s next move, reading how the other boy’s muscles tensed and chakra flowed. The boy was going to lead with a left jab and Madara grinned as he responded.
Sakura’s minty chakra exploded through his network, sharpening his control, amplifying his strength and even his vision grew more acute as everything he was doing suddenly became that much more effective. Reinforcing his body with chakra, like he’d seen Sakura do the first time they’d trained together, he brought his fist up then threw it at just the right moment to meet the Hyuga’s fingers.
The Hyuga boy clearly hadn’t been expecting such a move and Madara got the satisfaction of seeing shock then pain flash across the Hyuga’s face as their blows collided. Madara’s chakra erupted outwards like a hammer and the Hyuga’s nail of chakra was driven backwards and then blown away entirely by the sudden surge. Sakura had told him that most shinobi couldn’t withdraw their chakra easily and he had pounced on that fact, adding the Hyuga’s chakra to the force of his own and driving it straight up the other boy’s arm.
Madara didn’t hesitate and immediately brought his leg up as if going for a high kick before driving his foot downwards and snapping the other boy’s leading knee. Following the inertia forward, Madara brought his fist back and then delivered a crushing punch to the Hyuga’s cheek, a pulse of chakra crushing bone with ease and leaving the boy unconscious and bleeding on the ground.
Madara let out a breath and took a step back. Utter silence surrounded him before he heard Sakura cheer. Nobody had been expecting him to win after all, he wasn’t even six and his opponent was eight. The Hyuga were the deadliest taijutsu users in Hi and yet Madara had just crushed one. Sure he’d been relying on surprise but that was it, the moment the Hyuga had been thrown off the fight was over. A split second mistake had turned a stacked fight into an upset.
“That’s the match?” The Daimyo’s voice curled with uncertainty and he looked over at the Hyuga clan head who returned a murderous look. “Ah right, seconds take your place!” The Daimyo stammered and Sakura gave Madara a nod as she switched places with him. The Hyuga heir was quickly carried off the field and into a medical pavilion where several of the family’s branded slaves began to tend to his wounds. Madara didn’t know why one of them didn’t just poison the slaver but they were Hyuga, not Uchiha and so they dutifully tended to their next master.
“A girl?” The Daimyo asked, trailing off and looking at Sakura dumbly. Sakura raised an eyebrow as several of the other clans shifted about, grumbling and throwing quiet insults. The Uchiha might be egalitarian but most of Hi certainly was not.
“She is my son’s second and she is more then enough for a Hyuga brat.” Tajima drawled confidently and Madara watched as Sakura’s eyes began to blaze with emerald fire. The Hyuga across from her scoffed, clearly thinking this to be some kind of an insult and Sakura’s mouth split open to reveal her razor sharp teeth. Madara had seen that look in her eyes before, when she had acted without thinking and sent a grand fireball into the ranks of the Senju Ashigaru, killing at least a dozen men.
“Very well, let the match begin!” The Daimyo called out and Madara knew what was about to happen. The Hyuga boy shot forward as chakra caused Sakura’s eyes to swirl crimson. She deflected his punch with her gauntlet, chakra sparking against it as she brought her foot up and then slammed it down with a blast of chakra. The ground immediately buckled and exploded under the force of the blow and while the resulting crater and tremor was limited in scope and radius, the Hyuga boy was well within the miniature earthquake and his guard was instantly shattered.
“Shannaro!” Sakura’s screamed, eyes wild as her fist collided with the boy’s sternum, a piston of chakra compressing his bones well past the breaking point as her super human strength came crashing down on him. A second later the boy was gone, thrown clear of the arena and off through the crowd, a trail of knocked over bodies left in his wake.
“Well I assume that’s the match then?” Tajima asked, putting on a display of utter boredom, as if what he’d just seen was a daily occurrence. In truth it was, he knew of Sakura’s strength and Madara’s battle instincts, the two were talented in their own right and they trained hard.
“That’s the match.” The Daimyo decided, giving the Hyuga a look that said their stock had just fallen considerably in his eyes. Apparently whatever deal the two had worked out wasn’t enough in the face of such humiliating defeats.
“You know you might have killed the guy you fought.” Madara said as Sakura returned to his side. The Hyuga she had punched was currently being fished out from the crowd and set alongside the other injured boy. The Hyuga closed ranks around the two injured fighters, hiding them from outside observation but Sakura could feel both of their chakra, for the moment at least.
“Same to you.” Sakura pointed out since Madara had not held back at all. It was very possible the Hyuga heir’s skull had been cracked or the concussion Madara had given him would turn fatal.
“They challenged us, they put the lives of our family in danger. It’s only fair.” Madara replied, earning an utterly vicious grin from his best friend because she understood. He had always thought her teeth cute, charming and perhaps just a bit fae but right now they seemed like those of a predator, something that lurked in places humans feared to tread, whether that was the depths of the forest or oceans Madara wasn’t sure nor did he really care because she would never turn those instincts on him or their family.
“Come on now, there is going to be a feast.” Tajima murmured, ushering the two children into a large room where the other clan leaders and representatives began to take their seats. It was obvious the clans were sat in such a manner as to avoid hostility with the Uzumaki acting as a buffer between the Uchiha and the other families of Hi no Kuni. The Yamanaka, Akimichi and Nara were all sat together with the Senju settled nearby since the three clan alliance and the forest dwelling Senju rarely crossed blades. The Inuzuka and Hatake were separated by the Aburame who were a mostly neutral clan, at least under the current clan head though that could change.
The Hyuga, shame faced and bitter were sat nearest the daimyo though the man himself no longer looked so happy about that. It was obvious there had been an attempt at a power play, elevating both the Hyuga and the daimyo through the defeat and subsequent humiliation of the most powerful clan in Hi. That plan had backfired and the daimyo’s already pitiful political presence had taken another nose dive.
Food was served fairly quickly and after a few quick jutsu to check for poisons, everyone began eating. Madara was surprised by how good the food actually was, though the daimyo was certainly rich enough to afford the best available. Most of the shinobi clans, the Uchiha included, didn’t put that much importance on luxury goods and while they certainly didn’t cook bland or unappetizing meals, they didn’t have such lavish spreads regularly, except the Akimichi of course.
“Hey, that was amazing! That punch, you sent him flying and the way you took the other one down, how are you two so good?! You’re my age!” The redheaded girl that Madara had seen early had apparently decided to sit right next to the Uchiha party and was no longer able to contain herself. Madara shifted to face the girl, his food momentarily forgotten as he looked over the Uzumaki princess. She had sealing tags hanging from a pair of red buns and he could feel more active seals sewn into her clothes.
“We work very, very hard and eat all of our vegetables and plenty of meat.” Sakura said with faux seriousness. The rosette nodded, in a way that was distinctly noble and ate her food with perfect manners. The girl who had just crushed an older boy’s rib-cage to dust and screamed ‘hell yeah’ in front of the royal court was gone, replaced by the picture of a princess at home in the palace. “Uchiha Sakura, it is a pleasure to meet you Uzumaki-san.”
“Mito, Uzumaki Mito.” Mito replied and grinned at the two Uchiha children. She looked at Madara and raised a crimson eyebrow, silently demanding his own introduction.
“Uchiha Madara,” Madara offered and Mito’s steel eyes brightened considerably. The girl looked between the two curiously, sizing them up but without any real hostile intent. Her smile was firmly affixed to her face and her chakra was like a tropical storm, all wind, water and lightning. The girl was far more powerful then any other child Madara had ever felt before, her chakra reserves even larger then he remembered Kagami’s feeling and every present Uzumaki was much the same, vast stars of power compared to those around them.
“So, do you use fuinjutsu? I’ve been studying it but it’s impossible to find a teacher.” Sakura said quickly and Mito’s steel eyes sharpened. The girl leaned back, her smile dimming but not vanishing entirely.
“The Uzumaki aren’t going to share clan secrets with an outsider.” Mito stated bluntly, hoping to cut off any attempt at interrogation so they could focus on the important issues, like chatting with a mainland woman who wasn’t absolutely pathetic. The rosette was the first kunoichi she’d actually seen since getting off the boats and the only woman who seemed to have even a modicum of self respect.
“I’m not asking you to, but if you knew someone who would be willing to teach me I’m all ears.” Sakura countered and Mito raised an eyebrow, aware of her father’s attention. She wasn’t sure what he wanted with the Uchiha clan, seeing as they were at war with the Uzumaki’s own cousins the Senju.
“You are of the Isles.” Uzumaki Ashina, the clan head and Mito’s father said. His voice was deep and chakra warm and wild. His once vibrant red hair had long ago gone white from stress and was tied back into a short ponytail. He wore a simple lacquered breastplate that was absolutely covered in fuinjutsu over his travel clothes and looked far too old to be his daughter’s father.
“Yes but I am Uchiha as well.” Sakura answered and wondered if that was a good thing or a bad thing in the man’s book. The history of the Uzumaki was a massive unknown to Sakura, though they were obviously important. The redheaded clan were the greatest fuinjutsu masters to ever exist and her rudimentary knowledge of seals was nothing compared to what they could teach her.
“She’s my heir’s second and my daughter.” Tajima chimed in, his expression polite but guarded. Madara was having trouble following the political undercurrents at this point. What the Uzumaki’s goals were here he couldn’t say, nor did he really know if Mito wanted to talk or had actually been looking for information on how they trained.
“And is she next in line?” Ashina asked, clearly intent on drawing the obvious answer from the Uchiha. It was clear Sakura wasn’t related to the man, they looked nothing alike and Sakura’s Uchiha blood was literally non-existent, not that anyone present knew that. There was no way Tajima would claim her as a possible heir, even if Madara knew she would do a fine job of it should the need arise.
“Third in line, should my sons perish she will be my heir.” Tajima’s words had both his son and daughter’s heads snapping to face him. The older Uchiha gave Ashina a remarkably placid look, as if he hadn’t just crushed decades if not centuries of clan tradition casually. “Why?”
“I was unaware the Uchiha were so open. I thought your clan were warlike and vicious.” Ashina stroked his beard, consideration clear on his face. It was obvious the old shinobi was up to something, plotting and planning. The Uzumaki certainly weren’t known for subterfuge but that didn’t mean they weren’t capable of cleverness or trickery when the mood struck them. “I may know of someone willing to teach you fuinjutsu girl, for the right price.”
“She isn’t to be married outside the clan.” Tajima stated firmly, a silent conversation rapidly passing between the two men. The Uchiha never married outside their clan, it was an ironclad rule. They had to protect their doujutsu or their enemies would be able to overcome their otherwise insurmountable advantage. The sharingan was a war winner in the right hands and even in the hands of an uninspired amateur it turned a mediocre shinobi into a master duelist.
“Of course not, we are isolated and have no desire to tie ourselves to the wars on the mainland. Mixing blood would be a surefire way to become mired in your politics but trade deals or guards for our convoys could be mutually beneficial.” Ashina replied and Tajima shifted somewhat, clearly uneasy about the deal. This was something that would take time to hammer out, conditions and guarantees would need to be made. Not to mention Sakura’s true nature had to be kept secret.
“Perhaps we can work something out but not today. I will remember your words Uzumaki-san.” Tajima gave the man a polite smile as the conversation tapered off, leaving all three children wondering what exactly this meant for their future.