Hi everyone, Blackright here again.
Just so you understand, this story is profoundly interlinked with my other story; Child of the Kaminoki. I highly recommend you go read it first (up to the most recently posted chapter) if you wish to fully understand what happens here.
Chapter 1: History
The sun set over the Hokage Monument, only having two faces on its surface. The first being the head of Hashirama Senju, the Shodai Hokage who founded the Leaf Village along with Madara Uchiha. The second was Tobirama Senju, the younger brother of Hashirama.
On top of the first head sat a fair-skinned man with spiky, black hair that had a slight blue tint to it. His hair was waist-length with shoulder-length bangs framing the sides of his face, covering most of his right eye. He had several scars throughout his body. He wore a black shirt with a high-collar left slightly open and the Uchiha clan's crest on its back, with blue pants and bandages around his shins. Around his waist there was a white sash that held a sack, presumably containing his ninja tools.
This man was the legend Uchiha Madara, and he was looking out across the village of Konoha with remorse in his eyes. This would be his last day in the place he had helped create with his brother Hashirama Senju. Madara smiled slightly as he remembered his brother in all but blood.
Flashback
"Hashirama!" Madara shouted. He was 16 years old and had a massive grin on his face. The Uchiha and Senju stood on a battlefield. "Let's dance my brother!" Madara shouted in glee as the Uchiha and Senju clans roared mightily and surged forward, each member engaging with their rivals.
Madara's grin widened as he swung his scythe toward Hashirama who blocked with his sword and rolled away. It was a common misconception that the Uchiha and Senju clans hated each other. In fact, the two families were friendly rivals, they just didn't really care what the rest of the clans and leaders thought. Plus it made for good business. When one clan would get hired to settle some sort of dispute, the other party in the dispute would often hire the other clan, and so the two clans got to enjoy "fighting" with each other more often.
The two clans were brother clans in all but blood. Each member cared deeply for their friend on the other side. The Uchiha and Senju would not be the top clans of the Era without each other. While both were always pushing the other to be stronger, they went to great lengths to never kill each other and often actually protected their counterpart.
Usually, their battles would go on until there was a clear winner. Currently, they were in the midst of one of these fights and everyone had paired up with their rival. Powerful jutsu's could be seen flying through the air with great roars and explosions. Madara ducked a Senju's flying hoard of shuriken that went flying past him into a mud wall.
"Come on Madara! Is that the best you've got?" Hashirama shouted in return as he backed up to get some distance from his grinning rival and friend. They launched together and met with a mighty clang of metal as Madara swung his scythe, blocked by Hashirama's sword.
A flurry of blows followed as both tried to nick, but not seriously wound each other. To any observer, they were mere blurs and clangs of noise across the battlefield. The entire arena was a loud dim of jutsu's and explosions as the two clans "sparred."
The winning clan was the one that defeated the most of the other family, not by death, but by incapacitating their rival. It was just how it worked between these clans, and how it had always been since before the families had records.
Madara flipped through the air over a swing from Hashirama, his Gunbai still strapped to his back. He spun his scythe and clashed metal against metal once more.
"Katon: Great Flame Flower!"
Madara released a significant number of fireballs toward Hashirama, who watched the fiery projectiles approach as he went through seals.
"Mokuton: Wood Locking Wall!"
Wood sprung up in front of Hashirama and protected him in a dome from the massive rain of fire. In a burst of speed Madara appeared in front of the dome, swinging his scythe toward it. His weapon hummed and glowed, releasing a crescent-shaped chakra beam that dug into Hashirama's wood.
End Flashback
Madara smiled slightly when he remembered that particular battle between the clans all those years ago, then frowned as the rest of the fight came to his memory. While the conflict had brought about the beginning of the Hidden Leaf village, Hashirama's brother, Kawarama Senju, had died. In the battle, he had been killed by a sword through the heart by Madara's own brother, Izuna Uchiha.
That had been the day that Madara learned that his brother had secretly hated the Senju for years. Izuna blamed the Senju for the death of their father, convinced they had poisoned him, though there was no proof of that. Madara thought Izuna had gotten over it, but had to face that he had assumed wrongly, as Izuna had ended up stabbing Kawarama through the heart.
The whole battlefield had stopped. No one killed each other, that was something these two clans just didn't do to each other. Izuna had shown no remorse for his actions and quickly fled the battlefield. He wasn't seen or heard from ever since then, and all assumed he was dead.
Everyone had been devastated, and they all agreed that it was time to move on from their competitive battles. This was the first time that any Senju had died at the hands of an Uchiha. Shockwaves rippling, members of both clans came together and created the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Flashback
"Hashirama, the scouts report that the Gobi is right over these mountains," Madara said seriously.
"Hai, let's go."
Both Madara and Hashirama shot across the treetops together, reaching the pass-way between the mountains quickly. They were on a mission to capture all the tailed beasts, as they both had ways of controlling them. Madara was of the opinion that they should keep them all for themselves, but Hashirama wanted to spread them out between the now multiple formed villages as a sign of peace.
They passed the mountains with giant leaps. Over the tree tops the form of the massive five-tails could be made out. The white horse-like beast was apparently sleeping, its breaths making the branches of the nearby trees bend drastically.
'Perhaps this one will be easier to capture,' Madara mused. They had last captured the Hachibi, and that had been quite the battle, leveling several mountains in the process. Madara grinned as he remembered the feeling of beating the giant squid-like Bijū down.
Hashirama grimaced and slammed his palms together as markings spread across his face, hoping to take the beast by surprise.
"Sage Art: Gate of the Great God!"
Six massive red torii fell from the sky toward the Bijū's five tails and neck.
BOOM!
What happened next surprised them both as the beast apparently spotted the attack coming. In a massive burst of speed, the horse-like Gobi disappeared, leaving a cloud of dust and a large streak behind as it shot across the terrain.
Traveling miles of the forest easily, the giant creature curved back around in a wide arc, uprooting trees left and right. The Gobi lowered its horns toward its attackers, a dense haze of dust behind it as it flew across the ground at tremendous speed.
Madara's eyes evolved into his EMS with a pulse of power. He started to form his Susanoo rib cage around him in preparation for the attack knowing that they would not be able to dodge this extremely quick Bijū.
"Mokuton: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!" Hashirama shouted as he slammed his palms together once again. The ground in front of him burst as massive trees and roots began to grow at an extreme pace in an attempt to slow the raging Bijū down.
In a second the Gobi reached the trees, tearing through them with its horns like they were paper, uprooting them with ease, and sending them flying into the air behind itself. Madara and Hashirama's eyes widened in shock at the speed of this Bijū, even the 8-tails had trouble with that jutsu. Quickly jumping to Hashirama, Madara formed a denser Susanoo around them right as the Gobi struck.
The impact sent them flying through the air, and Madara's Susanoo cracked with a horrible screeching from the slam. They crashed into the ground a mile away and dented the earth with the force of their impact. Madara grasped his bleeding eyes as his Susanoo body faded away and wiped away the blood streaming down his face.
"We need to slow it down if we are to have any hope of catching this one Madara," Hashirama stated as he stood and helped his friend to his feet. Madara nodded, his Mangekyo spinning and a massive grin on his face.
"Susanoo!" Madara yelled as his dark blue Susanoo formed in a massive burst of Chakra. The skeletal Susanoo quickly grew skin and kept evolving, and in a few seconds his Complete Body Susanoo stood, towering above the landscape and Hashirama who stood nearby.
Madara looked out across the landscape and easily spotted the speed demon Bijū turning in a wide arc to attack again. Preparing for the impact, he thrust his two swords into the ground with his extra Susanoo hands.
The Bijū was quickly approaching. Kneeling to the ground as he crossed his arms in front of him, Madara planned to take the full impact of the Bijū and stop it in one place long enough for it to be restrained by Hashirama.
BOOOOOM!
Madara's eyes widened as the Gobi actually broke the sound barrier. Trees and debris flew through the air violently from the shockwave. Less than a second later it reached him and crashed into his Susanoo with its horns. He grinned as he channeled a massive amount of Chakra through his Susanoo to prevent it from breaking from the powerful impact. The Gobi pushed him hundreds of yards, creating a huge rut in the ground as his Susanoo's feet dug into it.
Reacting quickly he raised an arm and punched the five tails in the face, throwing it to the ground in a massive explosion of dust and dirt. The tailed beast was dazed from the punch as it tried to unsteadily get to its feet, its tails flailing wildly in an attempt to fend Madara off.
"Sage Art: Gate of the Great God!" Hashirama yelled in the distance. Once again six massive red torii fell from the sky toward the Bijū's head and five tails. The beast saw them coming, but Madara was better prepared this time. Leaping forward in his massive Susanoo, he stabbed one of his swords through the Gobi's middle tail, pinning it. The five-tails released an enormous roar right before the six torii crashed into it, slamming its head to the ground and dazing it again.
"Now, Hashirama!" Madara yelled powerfully, pushing down the body of the struggling Bijū. Madara noticed out of the corner of his eye the Bijūdama forming in front of the Gobi's face.
"Look out! It's going to fire a Bijūdama!" Madara yelled. Lurching to his feet, Madara stormed across the terrain toward the Bijū's face. Upon reaching it, he pulled back and punched the Gobi in the side of the face hard, upsetting the Bijūdama which fired off at a lower power into the air. A couple of moments later, miles high in the air, the Bijūdama exploded, the shockwaves reaching them shortly after.
"Fuinjutsu: Four Symbols Seal!"
Hashirama at some point had created a large slab of wood that had the Kanji for five ingrained in it. As he finished the seals for the jutsu, kanji poured out from him toward the downed Bijū. His hair flared as his chakra visibly pulsed around him, pushing the black kanji forward at a rapid pace. Before long the Bijū was entirely wrapped in the Kanji and rapidly shrunk before disappearing in the slab.
Hashirama panted hard as he collapsed on to his back, sealing a Bijū always took a lot out of him. Madara walked over as his Susanoo disintegrated. "You really ought to have started with wrapping the Bijū in wood, long enough for me to put it under a Genjutsu," Madara commented flatly, a small smirk on his face.
Hashirama just gave his a friend a "really?" look. Madara smirked in response to that and helped his friend stand up.
"Which village do you want to give this one to? Also, have you decided which Bijū we are going to keep?" Madara questioned seriously as Hashirama created four wood clones to carry the sizeable wooden slab that contained the Gobi.
"I plan to give this one to Iwagakure, along with the four tails," Hashirama replied, "I decided to take your advice, we will keep the Nine-tails after we capture it."
"That's going to be fun," Madara said with a grin, already looking forward to the battle with the greatest of the Bijū.
After Hashirama regained his breath, both of them launched off from the ground across the destroyed terrain of the Land of Grass. Before long they reached the shinobi that had come with them in their search for the Gobi.
"Good to see you back Lord Hokage, Lord Uchiha," A black haired shinobi stated with a bow. He flicked his hand, and four ANBU moved to take the wooden slab from the wood clones.
"Thank you Netsu. Madara and I need to go back to the village now. Deliver this one to Iwagakure, remind them to find a better way to seal it as these slabs will only last for a couple of months." Hashirama ordered.
"Of course Lord Hokage," Netsu replied, quickly turning to the large squad of Jounin and ANBU to relay orders and begin preparations for the journey to Iwa.
"Let's get going Hashirama," Madara said. Both launched themselves off into the trees toward the Hidden Leaf Village.
"Hashirama, have you thought about what I told you? My discovery?" Madara questioned as they shot through the trees at a speed Jounin could only marvel at.
"I have."
"And?"
"We will have to put our faith in the future, begin your preparations."
"Hai," Madara responded, his face deadly serious.
A couple of hours later they arrived at the still-developing Hidden Village. Hashirama smiled as he gazed upon it. It currently housed around a thousand civilians and several clans - the Senju, Uchiha, Hyūga, Hatake, and Kurama clans. More were coming based off of letters he had received.
He had been overjoyed when the other nations took his idea and began their own hidden villages. He was hoping that by splitting the Bijū among them that they could establish peace between the shinobi powers.
They landed in front of the still being built wall and walked through the gates. Strolling down the main street they looked at the still-developing village.
Houses and shops were finished along the street, but many were still being built. The main buildings required to be created first by the plan Madara and Hashirama had come up with, were already finished, except for the Academy.
They had developed the concept of the ANBU from one of Madara's ideas. He felt there should be an elite unit of specially trained Ninja that had their identities hidden and were charged with the dangerous missions and protecting the Hokage. They would also do the harder jobs, and be charged with keeping the darker and deeper secrets of the village.
So the ANBU buildings had been created first along with the Hokage Tower, Uchiha Compound, Senju Compound, Shinobi headquarters, vaults, and sensory unit facility. Madara had recently added another thing to the high priority list, having marked it as secret.
He called it the Sealed Hall, a place to store the techniques and secrets that no one should have access to. He had discussed how to create it at great length with Hashirama and his wife Mito Uzumaki, who was a seal master.
It was almost finished as well. Several Doton users had dug out the underground structure, with Hashirama forming the interior and support as well as the entrance. Mito was currently creating seals that would only allow in the Hokage, specifically permitted individuals or a master of Fuinjutsu who could break the seals.
"Lord Hokage! You are required at the Hokage Tower for the selection of the council," a jounin yelled as he quickly ran toward Hashirama and Madara, before giving them a bow.
"Thank you, I will come to tend to the matter immediately. Madara, Kyūbi next?" Hashirama asked of his friend who looked at him sideways with his one visible Sharingan eye.
"Hai, we need to have it before giving the rest of the Bijū in case of an attack with the very gift we are giving them," Madara stated wisely. Hashirama nodded before disappearing in his own created leaf Shunshin that was quickly becoming very popular in the village.
Madara looked out across the street of the village he helped create, watching the villagers go about their day. Suddenly he was consumed in a burst of fire and disappeared without a trace.
End Flashback
Madara was pulled out of his memories by his senses warning that someone was approaching. Focusing on them he realized who it was and relaxed. From behind him, the bushes parted as a beautiful woman walked toward him. Madara turned and smiled at her, a genuine smile full of love for the female before him.
Her name was Karino Namikaze, and she was a bit shorter than he was. She had bright blond hair and sky blue eyes. She was currently wearing a pair of black pants and a brown shirt, which was covered by the black cloak she was wearing. He had met her in the Land of Rice on a mission and had fallen in love with her. She had agreed to come back with him to the village as she didn't really have anything of importance to her in the Land of Rice.
"Thought I would find you here, come to say goodbye?" she asked kindly as she walked up to him and put her head on his shoulder. He smiled and pulled her closer to him.
"Hai, I regret leaving the village Hashirama and I... put so much work into, but ever since… the Senju's death the Uchiha have become arrogant, and I cannot get them to see their ego," Madara said sadly. She hugged him tighter.
"Know that I will go with you wherever you go Mada-koi," she said with a cheeky smile causing Madara to raise an eyebrow.
"I thought I told you to stop calling me that," he said in annoyance. Karino just giggled "Uhh huh, but you like it Mada-koi," she said exasperatedly, rolling her eyes.
"Shall we go?" Madara asked as he looked one last time across the village. "Hai," she replied. Madara pulled her closer, and they both disappeared in a column of fire that turned black before fading away.
Six Years Later
Land of Rice
"Good job, try again."
The young boy of six nodded before running toward the tree again. As he touched the base of it he placed his feet against the trunk and ran up the side. Channeling chakra with each step he quickly reached a large high branch before sitting down on it.
He looked down for his father only to find him missing. "You've mastered tree climbing Minato, good job," Madara said right beside him on the branch. Minato jumped in surprise and losing his grip on the tree he fell to the ground not far below. Landing in a heap he shook his head. Hearing the sound of his father's laugh he looked up and glared, while his father looked at him in amusement.
Madara Uchiha dropped from the tree and helped his son up. "Shall we go see what your mother is making for lunch?" Minato nodded his head rapidly, shooting up to his feet and taking off down the trail through the woods towards their home.
Madara Uchiha had changed a lot from how the world knew him six years ago. He was beginning to look older, and he was slightly shorter. He still had his oppressive aura, but he didn't use it as much. He had kept his skills sharp in case he and his family were found, but he wasn't as much in shape as he used to be. Madara had taken a particular like to civilian clothes, so he hadn't worn his Warring States Era armor in six years. Instead, he often wore a black t-shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol proudly displayed on the back, as well as a pair of simple baggy black pants. His hair was still as long as it always was, falling over one eye.
Madara walked through the forest toward where he could sense his youngest son, Chariko, practicing the tree climbing exercise. Quickly reaching the small clearing, he stood in the shadow of one of the trees as he watched his five-year-old son try again and again to make it to the top of the tree, marking with a kunai how far he got each time up the tree.
Chariko was very different from his brother. Minato was more like his mother, having blond hair and blue eyes. Though both their hair grew in a similar style to his, Minato's personality was more bright and outgoing like his mother's. Chariko was more like his father. He was quiet and analytical, and had the same hair color and style as Madara. Both their faces were similar to their mother, while Chariko's eyes were black like his father's. Chariko was wearing a white t-shirt with the Senju clan symbol on it, in respect to the fallen clan, and a pair of light blue shorts.
Minato had awoken his Sharingan before Chariko, but that was to be expected as Minato was older. Chariko had not yet awakened his Sharingan, while Minato had reached two tomoe a week ago.
"How is it coming musuko?" Madara asked as he walked out of the shadows. Chariko, who was catching his breath, looked up quickly, having not known his father was there. "I keep trying, but I feel like I'm doing something wrong," he said in annoyance and exhaustion.
"Here, try it again, and I will watch, then tell you if I see anything." Madara offered with a small smile. He cared about his family deeply. When Hashirama had died he had felt like a part of him had departed... then the entire Senju had been wiped out in the battle between Kumo and Iwa against the Uzumaki's in the Second Great Ninja War. He had been utterly depressed, but Karino had pulled him out of it. With the creation of his family, he had found that part of him once more and he was determined to never lose it again.
"Hai, Oto-san," Chariko said as he pushed himself to his feet. Madara's coal eyes evolved into the Sharingan as he watched his son channel chakra through his body in preparation for the climb. Chariko took off toward the tree, channeling chakra through his feet as they touched the bark. He made it about 14 feet up the tree before marking it and falling back down.
"I see what your issue is," Madara started, switching into his lecture voice. "You are completing the exercise correctly, but at the wrong speed. You speed up as you go up the tree, but you keep the timing of your chakra pulses the same," Madara explained with a small smile as he watched Chariko's face light up in understanding.
"Thank you Oto-san!" Chariko said as he hugged his father in a rare display of emotion. "Don't worry about it Chariko, your uncle did the same thing when he first tried it," Madara said, remembering his brother who deserted the Uchiha and killed Hashirama's brother all those years ago.
He had this feeling that his brother was still alive somewhere. Luckily for him, before Izuna had abandoned the Uchiha, they had switched eyes when they realized they were both going blind from the use of their Mangekyo. Otherwise, Madara would have had to hunt him down to take his eyes. His brother was labeled a traitor in the clan, but he didn't really want to go through the pain of battling his own brother.
Shaking his head, he focused back on his son, who was attempting the exercise once again and making it much farther. He reached about 18 feet before falling. Madara realized that his son was going to land on his head and quickly leaped forward, catching his son in mid-air.
Sticking to the side of the tree, he pushed the hair out of his son's face and realized his son had passed out from overusing his chakra. Chariko had been practicing this exercise since early this morning. With a chuckle, he dropped from the tree as he held his son and walked through the woods toward his home.
Before long he reached the clearing that surrounded their house. It was a lovely two-story structure that seemed to be built out of the very trees, which was actually true. Hashirama had made this house for Madara, at his request, as a secret getaway and had agreed to never tell anyone that it existed.
Karino was sitting on the porch listening to young Minato excitedly talk about how he'd mastered the tree climbing and how the big meanie had knocked him out of the tree with a pout on his face. She smiled and looked up as she spotted Madara out of the corner of her eye, though her smile went straight to a frown when she saw he was carrying a passed out Chariko. She quickly rushed over, concern on her face.
"What happened?! Is he okay?" she asked worriedly as she carefully took Chariko from Madara. Madara smiled as he watched the motherly affection happening before him. Minato rushed over as well, concern on his face for his younger brother.
"Oto-san, what happened to nii-san?" Minato said with the cutest look of worry on his face, his eyes showing his brotherly concern.
"Don't worry, he just exhausted himself doing the tree climbing exercise," Madara said amusedly. Karino sighed in relief and rolled her eyes.
"I swear he's always working himself to exhaustion, he totally ignores my worries." She walked inside carrying her son before setting him down on the couch and going to check on the food. Madara and Minato followed her inside and started discussing chakra theory, something Minato highly enjoyed.
Before long Chariko woke up, Karino came back with the food, and Minato helped his mother set the table. As they prepared to sit down to eat, Karino made sure to give her son Chariko a hard time about working himself too hard. Chariko acknowledged her concerns, but his face never changed emotions.
Madara frowned as he sat down at the head of the table, watching his son's emotionless response to his mother. It honestly somewhat concerned him. Chariko was the polar opposite of his brother and mother, and was more like himself. In fact, Madara was the only one that could get emotion out of the boy. Chariko was very similar to him in many ways, but he sensed darkness in the boy's soul, and it concerned him. He was at a loss. While he had been trying hard to be a good father, he admitted it wasn't something that came easily for him.
He clenched his fist subconsciously. He, the great Uchiha Madara, was at a loss on how to help his own son. He didn't want to lose Chariko to whatever darkness was festering inside... he had already lost too much. His brother Izuna, Hashirama, the entire Senju clan who'd been killed in the attack on the Uzumaki's during the Second Great Shinobi War, and the Uchiha to their arrogance.
He shook his head as they all sat down. After a quick Itadakimasu they all dug into the delightful Teishoku that Karino had prepared.
"Kaa-san, this is delicious!" Minato exclaimed as he dug into his food, bits of his meal flying past his face as he shoveled it in at high speeds.
"Minato-kun, what have I told you about making a mess?" Karino asked in a sickly sweet voice. Minato gulped as he looked up and saw the dangerous look on his mother's face.
"Ehh heh… not to?" Minato said nervously as he slowly backed his chair away from the table. "How about you clean that up Minato-kun," Karino said in the same sweet voice. Minato nodded violently as he shot down to the floor and began picking up the bits of food scattered from his previous… uhh, destruction of his meal.
Chariko just watched him with his one visible critical eye, slipping another bite of food in his mouth. His physical resemblance to Madara was shocking. While he was nowhere near as bulky as his father, more of a lean figure like his mother, he possessed the same analytical skills as his Oto-san even at the young age of five years old.
They quickly finished their meal, Minato offering to help his mother clean the dishes, and they both disappeared into the kitchen.
"Chariko-kun, would you like to go fishing with me?" Madara inquired curiously. Chariko looked at his father emotionlessly for a few moments before a small smile came to his childlike face, "Hai, Oto-san, I would enjoy that."
Madara nodded and smiled, wishing he understood his son's apathetic look on life. They didn't have all that much interaction with the outside world, but Madara felt that wasn't the issue. 'I hope that I can figure out more on this fishing outing' Madara thought. He made a mental note to ask him about it later.
Quickly standing up Madara, went over to the tall wall cabinet he used to store all his fishing supplies. He had made the cabinet for this specific purpose. Using his mastery over the fire element, he had sculpted this cabinet out of a large Cryptomeria tree.
It had been one of his first projects when he started his wood sculpting hobby, which had come after his fishing hobby. For once, not living in the midst of war and conflict or building a village, Madara had the chance to focus on the simple pleasures of life. He found that he highly enjoyed fishing, wood sculpting, and card stacking, which was a more recent hobby.
Taking his favorite fishing pole that he had made himself, he grabbed the smaller one he had made for Chariko and tossed it to him before grabbing his tackle box.
"Chariko and I are going fishing hime, we will be back later!" Madara shouted out across the house as he opened the front door.
"Okay! Be back in time for dinner though! And no more tree climbing for today Chariko or else!" Karino shouted back across the house from the kitchen. Chariko visibly paled as he heard his mother's threat and the underlying tone. His mother's wrath was nothing to mess with. Chariko shuddered as he remembered some of her… more creative punishments.
oOoOoOo
Madara and his son were walking down the path toward the nearby lake. He'd grabbed his favorite straw hat off the hook as he had headed out the door, and currently had it tilted on his head. With the help of his two sons, he had built a dock on the edge of the nearby lake. It had been times like those that Madara really envied Hashirama's ability to create just about anything by thinking about it. But they had built the dock all the same.
Sitting down on the edge of the dock, Madara opened his box as Chariko sat down next to him. He handed Chariko a worm before impaling one on his own hook, then he stared intently at the water.
After a couple of tries, Chariko finally got the squirming worm on the hook before he looked at his father and sighed. 'I can't believe the Sharingan has been reduced to being an asset for fishing,' Chariko thought in annoyance as he watched his father's red eye dart across the surface of the lake.
Sighing again, he randomly cast his hook into the water with a splash. He only had to wait a second before he got the intended result.
"Chariko! You scared the fish!" Madara exclaimed in horror, 'I had them all right where I wanted them, too! Dang it!'
Chariko sighed again as his father cried anime tears over the fact that he had disturbed the fish. The first time he had done it accidentally. His father had been aghast and explained to him what he had messed up and said to not to do it again.
So, of course, Chariko did it just about every chance he got just to bother his father in this small way. It didn't really have all that lasting of an effect as Oto-san would quickly round them up again, but it still was entertaining to watch his father, the great Madara Uchiha, cry anime tears.
His father had a special jutsu he had created for this exact purpose, though he had never given it a name and didn't care to. Chariko simply referred to the jutsu as "Fathers cheating against fish jutsu" which had made his mother roll on the floor with laughter the first time he told her.
The jutsu sent water through the lake and subtly maneuvered all the fish into one place where Madara would cast his hook. Chariko remembered why exactly his father had made this jutsu, his Kaa-san had told him about it.
Flashback
"Chariko, you know that jutsu your father uses with the fish?" Karino said to her son randomly as he helped wash the dishes.
"Uhh yeah, the cheating against fish justu?" Chariko asked curiously.
"Yeah, that one. That name is great by the way," Karino said with a laugh. "I want to tell you how he came up with that jutsu. It's a funny story actually." Chariko raised his eyebrow, which she took as his affirmation that he wanted to hear the story.
"I actually went fishing with him a couple times, this was when you were around two years old. Minato would have been three. I was fishing with him, and I caught a lot more fish than he did, which irked him to no end. I still rub that in his face to this day." she said as she started laughing, remembering the utterly annoyed and confused look on her husband's ordinarily stoic face.
"Anyway, after that day your father started fishing a lot more often trying to get better at fishing, determined to beat my record of 36 fish. It didn't work out. In fact, it resulted in the fish getting smarter and actively avoiding him."
"In fact, I remember the pout on your father's face when he came in. Exhausted and collapsing on the couch, complaining about how the fish were actually growing intelligence and avoiding him. Said he was convinced that they were demon fish," she said as she broke out into laughter. Chariko broke a small smile at the mental image of his father pouting over fish.
"Anyway, he got fed up with the 'darn stupid fish' after that and invented his 'cheating' jutsu as you call it," Karino said with a smirk as she dried another plate and put it in a cabinet on the wall of their large kitchen.
"Kaa-san, did he beat your record?" Chariko inquired, interested in the story now.
"Actually he did. He came in the day after he created the jutsu bragging about how he got 78 fish. I assure you I chased him around the house with a frying pan, as using a jutsu does not count!" she said with a dramatic flair to her voice, flipping her hair around her head in a way that showed she looked down on cheating.
"But on normal terms, no, he never beat my score. I think it still irks him," Karino said with a smirk. She rubbed Chariko's head, messing up his hair, getting a glare from him before handing him another dish to dry.
End Flashback
Chariko focused back on his bobble in the water, seeing it jerk. He stood up and began pulling the now heavy hook toward him as fast he could. This quickly drew the attention of his father, whose visible eye widened as he could see the huge Koi fish. With a start and great annoyance, he realized it was the old crafty Utsurimono fish that he'd been trying to catch for years.
'Of course... Chariko would catch that fish before I did,' Madara thought, watching his son reel the large struggling fish in with some effort. Eventually, his son brought it close to the dock. Madara grabbed the fishing line and lifted the yin-yang fish out of the water, who fixed him with a glare that he returned. He pulled the hook out of the fish's mouth before tossing it back into the water.
"Good job musuko," Madara said with begrudging respect as he reeled his own empty hook in, staring despondently at the bare hook that didn't even have the worm on it. Sighing deeply, he put another worm on before tossing it out into the water.
Chariko held back his laughter at his tou-san's antics, and grabbing another worm he slid it on his hook and tossed it back out into the water. Focusing on the water he tried to peer below it to watch the fish.
Back at the House
"Kaa-san, will you watch me practice please, please?" Minato begged with puppy dog eyes. Karino just rolled her eyes at her son's antics.
"Of course Minato-kun, lead the way, dear," she said kindly. Minato leaped for joy and shot out of the living room and out the back door into the backyard training ground.
Karino followed at her own pace and watched as her son was practicing his Great Fireball Jutsu that Madara had taught both his sons when they turned four respectively.
"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Minato yelled out as he finished the hand signs. Putting his hand to his mouth he took a deep breath and shot out a decent sized fireball at a training dummy, decimating it as he set it on fire.
Karino smiled as she watched her son practice, reflecting on the past nine years of her life. She had met Madara in the Land of Rice, which is where they currently resided, though on the opposite side of the country. Their meeting had been quite the disaster, and she almost lost her life, but she was glad they met, and she had ended up coming home with him to the Leaf Village. For her safety during the war, they kept their relationship, and eventual marriage, a secret from the village. As Madara was often attacked by other villages, he had given her some shinobi training so that she could be better able defend herself.
When the Uchiha became corrupted and saw themselves as the best, unbeatable, ignoring everything Madara said and calling him a traitor, Madara had decided to leave the village. After that, they had come here to this lovely home. Not long after Minato, and then Chariko, had been born, and nothing was more important to her than her two sons. She knew that one day they would both grow up to be powerful shinobi like her husband.
"KAA-SAN, LOOK OUT!" Minato shouted as he turned and ran toward his mother. She snapped out of her daze only to be tackled by her son and violently thrown across the porch. As soon as the spot she had been sitting in was clear, a large Fuma shuriken buried itself in the porch deck.
Karino's eyes narrowed as four shinobi appeared by the shuriken. From the studies Madara had her do, she was able to tell that they were Iwa ninja, Jounin level going by their jackets and age.
'They are here for Madara. He told me he killed thousands of Iwa shinobi in the war,' Karino thought as she got to her feet. Suddenly the one closest to the Fuma shuriken pulled it out of the deck and threw it at her and Minato in one motion. Minato actually reacted faster than she did and they both leapt out of the way. In mid-air, two of the Iwa shinobi kicked them both in different directions.
Karino hit the porch deck with a thud while Minato flew into the training ground. Minato stood up quickly, and Karino noticed his two tomoe Sharingan was active and spinning at high speed.
Minato had to dodge as one of the jounin broke off and attempted to stab him. Dropping to the ground and rolling, Minato slipped out of the Jounin's kunai range.
"So Madara had a son, did he? I am going to enjoy killing you!" the Jounin stated arrogantly as Minato ducked under another swing, this one for his neck. His Sharingan was working overtime to keep him out of harm's way.
"You stand no chance against Elite Jounin!" the muddy brown haired man snarled with a smirk, his green eyes burning with hatred as he tried to stab Minato again. Minato was unable to attack in response and instead was left on the defensive, only able to dodge or avoid most of the Jounin's attacks with his Sharingan.
With Karino things were somewhat unfair. She was taking on three of the Elite Jounin's at the same time. While she was dodging as fast as she could to prevent being impaled on the two of the Jounin's tanto's, the third one was chucking several large Fuma Shuriken at her.
Karino ducked and tried to kick out the feet of one of the Jounin who jumped away. Karino knew they were going easy on her. She had some training, but she was not good enough to take on three jounin at the same time.
'I need to help Minato!' Karino thought as she saw the Jounin Minato was fighting cut his arm pretty badly. Minato let out a scream as the kunai dug through his flesh.
In that moment of distraction, one of the Jounin got past her guard and stabbed a Kunai through her shoulder. Apparently done playing around, he pushed it hard enough to send it all the way through her shoulder and into the wall.
She held back a scream but still cried out from the pain. Minato heard his mother and quickly tried to rush forward to help her, only to get blindsided by the Jounin he was fighting. A kick to his face sent him flying away and nearly knocked him out.
"YOU WILL ALL PAY!" Karino roared out in motherly rage at her son being hurt, ripping the Kunai out of her shoulder. Chakra pulsed around her as her eyes changed, becoming blood red with a horizontal violet slit.
The Jounin were frozen as, in horror, they watched her change. She quickly locked eyes with one and threw her hand out toward him.
"Ningen no gihō o bakuha suru!" she roared as she grabbed the closest Jounin's neck. The Jounin slumped over, his eyes taking on a red glow. This was enough to break her other two opponents out of their shock and her eyes darted toward them. In one movement she twirled the Jounin in her grasp, slit his neck and threw him toward her last two opponents.
As the Jounin's body flew through the air, it changed. A pitch-black substance devoured the body and inflated it grotesquely. The two Jounin moved to dodge, but only one made it out of the way.
BOOOOOM!
The black pulsing ball reached him and exploded on a large scale, obliterating him, sending his remains flying through the trees as well as making a large crater in the ground.
'That was amazing Kaa-san! I'm coming to help!' Minato thought frantically as he pushed himself to his feet and shot off a fireball at his opponent, who had been distracted by the other battle. The Jounin saw it coming and dodged before it hit him. Minato grimaced as he jumped back into action, determined to defeat his opponent so he could help his mother.
With Madara and Chariko a few moments before
"Oto-san, when will I awaken my Sharingan?" Chariko asked curiously, pulling in his hook to cast it again. He'd finally convinced his father to stop cheating, so they were fishing both normally.
"Don't worry too much about it Chariko-kun, Minato awoke his around your age, so I suspect it won't be much longer now," Madara said with a smile.
"Hnn."
'He's such an Uchiha without even realizing it,' Madara thought with a chuckle as he heard his son give the infamous Uchiha response to just about anything.
"Chariko," Madara started, his voice serious. "Is there something between you and your brother?" Madara asked, as he turned to his son and looked at him intently.
Chariko's one visible eye looked sideways at him, little to no emotion visible on his stoic childlike face. He began to open his mouth to respond….
BOOOOOM!
"That came from the house!" Madara said as he got to his feet near instantly, grabbed his son's hand, tossed him on to his back and took off through the trees. Chariko didn't complain. His eyes were wide as he held on tightly, his father already flying through the trees toward their home.
A few moments later at high speed, Madara arrived at his house, only to witness alongside his son the thing he had never wanted to see in his life.
Karino stood on the porch, barely holding onto a Kunai in her hand, impaled through her chest in multiple directions by several earth spikes. Her eyes dissolved from blood red back to her usual blue eyes, and those too were fading fast.
Not noticing her son and husband standing in shock on the edge of the forest, she looked toward Minato.
"Goodbye Minato-kun, grow up to be a strong shinobi. I love you and Chariko both, tell him that for me okay?" she said faintly, fighting back death to deliver her message as the spikes impaling her were coated in her blood. A moment later she slumped over, dead.
"I-i will Kaa-san," Minato choked out with tears streaming down his face. Suddenly he bowled over, and his eyes started burning.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" two voices shrieked out across the woods. Chariko and Minato both screamed as their eyes burned, their emotions rampant, reducing them to tears.
In perfect unison their heads snapped up, their eyes evolving into the Mangekyo Sharingan, burning the image of their mother dead and slumped over and blood trickling from her mouth into their minds forever.
Madara broke out of his shock, quickly falling into his age-old shinobi mindset as he saw one of the Jounin run forward to stab his son. In a roar of rage, he jumped across the clearing near instantly. His eyes evolved into his Mangekyo as his Susanoo formed around him faster than it ever had before. One arm flew through the air at nearly invisible speeds and impaled the Jounin on its claws through his gut.
Minato looked up at his father, panting heavily, his red eyes fading as he fell to the ground and passed out. Madara's rage grew as he turned around extremely quickly. His Susanoo evolved as he stormed toward the last remaining Jounin who was shaking with fear at the great Uchiha Madara, and he was very, very angry.
Rightfully fearing for his life, the Jounin tried to jump into the trees. He was stopped in mid-air by a giant, fiery blue sword through his chest, killing him instantly.
Madara's Susanoo faded away as he leaped toward his wife. In a feat of strength he hadn't shown in a long time, he broke all the spikes off his wife with his bare hands. Carefully laying her blood-soaked form on the destroyed porch, he held her body to him and cried.
His sobs echoed across the clearing as he yelled his pain at losing his precious wife to the world. Chariko stood stock still at the edge of the clearing, staring at the body of his dead mother, the images forever ingrained in his mind. His eyes had a single black ring with six tomoe like constructs attached to the ring in his eyes. He glared with hatred at his brother, he let mother die!
'I should have been here for her!' Chariko thought as he tightly clenched his fists till they became white and began to bleed. His eyes overshadowed by his hair until suddenly his head shot up, his eyes burning with rage. 'Minato should have saved her! I SHOULD HAVE SAVED HER!' Chariko screamed in his mind.
Chariko put his hands to his eyes as the pain of gaining his Sharingan and going straight to Mangekyo overwhelmed him. He collapsed to his knees. A few moments later he got the pain under control, and his Mangekyo eyes flashed up as he focused on his mother once more, the tears pouring out of his eyes mixing with the blood.
oOoOoOo
The family was devastated, and it was apparent over the next month. Madara had buried his wife not far from the house, having carved her gravestone himself out of a large rock and he became very depressed. He still helped the boys train, but he rarely said anything and never smiled about anything. His eyes always contained his pain over losing his wife.
Madara was at a loss for what to do. He didn't have any other purpose for living except his sons. So he decided to teach them how to defend themselves, then take them to Konoha once they were strong enough. He could not be the parent they required, and they would become stronger for it. He believed they needed interactions with others anyway.
He was already old, and he only felt older with her death. He felt couldn't be a supportive father for much longer.
Madara shook his head as he watched Minato and Chariko spar. Chariko had a lot of locked up rage, which he directed at his brother. Madara had quickly figured out that Chariko blamed both himself and his brother for their mother's death. Madara had tried to point out that it hadn't been either, but Chariko ignored him, having gotten much colder in the last month to him.
Minato on the other hand, while being sad, looked at it all in a very different light. He was determined to make his mother proud of him by being stronger and becoming a great shinobi like his Kaa-san wanted.
Minato ducked a hard kunai swing from his brother and rolled out of the way as Chariko attempted to kick out his feet. Minato got to his feet and slammed his palm into Chariko's elbow, preventing him from swinging again, before twisting around and nailing Chariko in the chest with his elbow.
Madara watched their spar with a critical eye so that he could point out their flaws and mistakes later to help them get better, as well as compliment them. 'They have both improved tremendously in the last month, and they both awoke their Mangekyo at the same time, which is unbelievable,' Madara mused, recalling that event again.
Both of them awoke their Mangekyo over the same event, the death of their mother. Madara winced as he thought about that and pushed those memories away. He knew that he would have to talk to them about how they would need to switch eyes so that neither went blind. For now, he had told them both that he forbid them from using their Mangekyo until he had explained it to them.
Madara didn't have the medical training to perform a safe eye transplant anyway. They would need to do that in Konoha.
"Good job boys, you have both majorly improved. Chariko you need to work on overextending and Minato you need to work on blocking more, you dodge too much," Madara said as he got up and walked over to his two sons. One looked at him with a happy face, while the only simply nodded and looked at him impassively.
Madara sighed. He had a lot to do before he took them to Konoha.
One year later
Madara sat by his wife's grave. He spent more and more of his time here over the last year. Since Chariko had run away three months earlier, he rarely left this spot, and he had shed an uncountable number of tears over her grave. He hadn't expected Chariko to leave, and he had been unable to find him when he did, which pained him greatly.
Chariko and Minato had been sparring, and something set Chariko off. He'd shoved Minato after the spar had ended, yelled accusingly that their mother's death had been his fault and disappeared into the trees, leaving a shocked Minato behind. Minato quickly found Madara and told him what happened.
Madara was extremely concerned for his son. He hoped Chariko was okay and safe wherever he was, and that he didn't use his Mangekyo as he would go blind from overusing it. Madara had tried his hardest to find Chariko, but somehow he hid his tracks so well that Madara couldn't locate him, and the pain in his heart was killing him. At least he'd told them both the benefits and disadvantages of the Mangekyo.
Madara reluctantly got up off the ground and headed inside. Minato was frantically rushing around packing things. Today was the day they would go to Konoha after all.
"Minato-kun, come here for a moment," Madara said, as he sat down slowly on the couch.
"Hai, Oto-san," Minato said respectfully, as he walked into the living room and sat down on the opposite couch.
"I have a couple things to tell you," Madara started as he ran a hand through his hair. "First, I want you to take your mother's last name, Namikaze. It would not do for those in Konoha to know I was your father. On the trip there I will teach you a Genjutsu to hide your Sharingan when you need it," Madara stated
"Ano, why can't Konoha know that you are my father? Didn't you help build it?" Minato questioned curiously.
"Yes I did, though I am one of the few that remain from the days the village was built. My clan has become corrupt and would use you for their own purposes. I also have most likely been labeled a missing-nin for leaving Konoha. It is best that you pretend to be an orphan," Madara explained with a grimace at the mention of his corrupted clan.
"Hai," Minato said as he patiently waited for his father to continue.
"A couple more things before we go, I want you to have this," Madara said as he flicked his wrist. The bracelet that he always wore glowed for a moment before a large Gunbai appeared in a burst of smoke. It was brown with a black border, red tomoe, and a chain attached to the handle.
"This is my war fan. It has been passed down for generations since the beginning of the Uchiha clan. I want you to have it. But you need to keep it secret. Practice with it, but only use it when you have to, understand?" Madara said as he sealed the large fan back into the storage seal on his wristband, then slipped it off.
"Yes, thank you, father," Minato said with barely controlled excitement as he took the band from his father and slipped it on his own wrist. Madara almost smiled as Minato unsealed the Gunbai and fell over from its weight. He wasn't quite old enough yet to use the ancient weapon of their ancestors.
Madara helped Minato seal it back, and they prepared for their journey to Konoha.
Two weeks later
Madara and Minato were standing a few miles outside the main gates of Konoha. Madara looked one final time to Minato.
"Minato, my son," Madara said, drawing Minato's attention. In the last two weeks, Madara had trained Minato to the ground, bent on getting his son as strong as possible so he could keep himself safe. During this two weeks of training, Minato had indeed gotten much stronger. He'd also learned that the Sharingan was a tool, not the answer to all problems. His father had made it quite clear he was not to rely on the Sharingan. He wanted him to create his own legacy.
"Remember, keep the Uchiha name and bloodline a secret from the village, but never forget your legacy. Even though I dislike the Uchiha clan now, this village will keep you safe and strong. Never abandon your beliefs and fight for what you hold dear. Only when fighting to protect someone precious to you, will you show your true strength. I am sorry that I cannot come with you, but it would cause too many issues. Do not worry though, I will watch over you my son," Madara said with a rare smile that Minato returned. Rushing over, he hugged his father tightly around the waist, fighting back the tears.
"Speak to the Sandaime Hokage and tell him you are an orphan and wish to join Konoha. He will keep you safe. I want to warn you of one last thing... look out for your brother. I fear that he may come back to find you Minato," Madara said seriously. Minato nodded, watching as his father disappeared in a column of fire.
"Well, I guess this is it," Minato said with a determined grin. Turning toward Konoha, he shouldered his pack and took off in a burst of speed. "I will make you proud Tou-san, and I will honor your memory and wish Kaa-san."
He never noticed the yellow eyes in the dark watching him enter Konoha.