Chapter 3 – Tiny Spots
He was in a remote part of Fire country that had yet to be settled, somewhere northeast of Konoha, in the direction of the Land of Snow. There were two small mountains surrounded by sparse forest. This was a place that he had Zetsu scout out as a possible location for a secret base many years ago, but never made use of. He had passed it over in favour of the Mountains' Graveyard area to the north of Fire country, which was perfect to build his base due to the strange and unnatural landscape: huge mountains, dense forest, swamps and various other uninhabitable environments plus enormous bone structures of ancient creatures that spanned hundreds of meters. Nobody would ever settle there, so it was unlikely to be discovered.
Now however, he needed a place much closer to Konoha, within the range of his Living Shadow technique, and away from his old network of hideouts. Almost all of his resources had been handed over to the control of his student, and if he wasn't careful about accessing any of them, the boy would quickly find out. The report from Black Zetsu informed him that the Nine-Tails had been sealed by Konoha due to the boy's incompetence. He had been defeated by the Fourth Hokage and the summoning contract nullified. However, he had made some progress on other fronts. That was good news, but it did not mean the boy was loyal to Madara. Rather, the boy likely had no intention of reviving Madara in the first place, and would quickly become a thorn in his side if allowed to plot with the knowledge that Madara had already returned.
He raced up to the peak of one of the two mountains.
His revival had been a great blessing, but he was also vulnerable. In the body of an infant, his physical energy was extremely weak, and almost entirely occupied by the need to suppress the Nine-Tails. His body was also incapable of physical combat or weaving hand signs, and lacked the Sharingan. The secret of his true body had to be kept secret at any cost until it grew strong enough. But he was not about to sit still and do nothing for a decade and a half while his body matured.
By using the Living Shadow Symbiosis on a Zetsu body, he could control it as an avatar while using the chakra of the still living, and willing, host as a primary source instead of his own projected chakra.
Scounting around, he located a section of the forest edge that was extra dense near the mountain base.
"Wood Release: Great Forest Emergence." Trees and other plant life sprung up to provide additional cover for the area.
But it wasn't over yet. More steps were required to make this place appropriate for a hideout entrance.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees."
New trees and flowers erupted all around the area, extending in wide semicircle from the mountain base to the forest. He didn't command them to bloom just yet. They would bloom on their own time and saturate the area with deadly pollen, creating mutant animals and knocking out any humans that came near. The flora and fauna growth needed to appear natural to escape suspicion. After the teleportation seals are appropriately set up, he didn't necessarily need to build anything like an entrance. But teleportation seals were not something that any random second-rate villain had access to, and not all future subordinates would be permitted to use, or even know about those seals.
He smirked and admired his handiwork for a few seconds before suddenly gasping with exhaustion. He staggered on the disjointed rock beneath his feet and nearly toppled over but managed to stay upright through sheer force of will. It appeared that this Zetsu body did not possess nearly enough power to use the Wood Release to its full potential, even with his will controlling it.
No matter, he did not need to use this body for large scale combat, and there would be plenty of time to rest and slowly finish his construction work later. In a few months, his new laboratory would be ready.
O O O
2 years later
In a hidden base that the Uchiha maintained somewhere in Fire Country, Fugaku was leading one of his loyal Uchiha clansmen down a dark stone passageway.
The passageway opened up to a wide circular hall, where a lamp was placed in the center. At the opposite end to the entrance there was a wooden sculpture of Madara Uchiha sitting down inmeditative position. To the right was curtained off area that was completely opaque. To the left was a rack with an assortment of weapons.
The two Uchiha came to a stop in front of the Madara sculpture. Fugaku turned around and met his clansman with a stern look.
"Yashiro, you have served the Uchiha well these years. You are undoubtedly one of the most skilled Sharingan users among us, and your loyalty to the clan is beyond question." Fugaku praised solemnly.
Yashiro was most pleased hearing Fugaku's words, and he couldn't help but smile. He knew something good was coming his way.
"It is nothing more than my duty as an Uchiha." The thirty-five year old Uchiha vigorously affirmed as he stood up straighter. He was a member of the Uchiha Military Police and had served as Fugaku's trusted second in command for several years. His hair had plenty of volume but it somehow spiked up and all slanted unnaturally to the left, making him look half a head taller than he actually was.
Fugaku nodded and continued. "I have brought you here today to entrust in you a secret of grave importance to the clan's power and future. If you choose to bear this secret, then you will also be granted power worthy of your future role as one of the Uchiha's grand generals. This is a secret that not even the elders are aware of, a secret regarding the Mangekyou Sharingan."
At that, Fugaku's eyes morphed into Sharingan. Then immediately, it changed into a more complicated pattern with three dots and three curves.
Yashiro's composure noticeably shook. There was simply too much earth-shaking information hidden in those words. One could not speak of grand generals unless there were armies to be commanded. And a secret not even the elders were aware of regarding the forbidden Mangekyou…his heart began to beat faster as he dared to hope he could finally taste that ultimate power. "Fugaku-sama, it would be my greatest honor!"
"Good. Now…put this on," Fugaku took out a blindfold and tossed it over.
Yashiro quickly put it on without hesitation.
Fugaku drew a sword from the weapons rack and put it into Yashiro's hands, helping him to point it forward.
"Yashiro Uchiha! Are you ready to take the burden of shouldering the Uchiha's future?!" Fugaku roared.
"YES!"
As soon as he said yes, he felt something collide with the thing he was holding in his hands. A wet squelching sound could be heard and a hot liquid splashed onto his face. The thing that collided with him slid down the sword and he felt hands grab onto him even as a pained moan reached his ears.
Fugaku tore off the blindfold from Yashiro's eyes and forced him to witness what lay before him.
"Hi..Hiroka! NO!" Yashiro yelled as he let go of the sword and grabbed onto his wife's dying body.
"Ah…gurk…" Hiroka gasped before blood flooded out of her mouth. But her eyes were kind and warm. With some struggle, she finally managed to speak. "Yashiro…be strong…I love you…take care of Hoshiro…"
"Hiroka! HIROKA!" Yashiro shouted futilely as his wife snuggled into his chest and died.
He fell to his knees and stared lifelessly at the corpse. After a minute of silence, he was jolted to his senses as Fugaku put a mirror in front of him and he saw an unfamiliar pattern in his Sharingan, with two streams of blood flowing down like tears from each eye.
Just before he was about to explode in rage and brutally murder this monster pretending to be their clan leader, he heard the bastard speak again, "Don't worry, Hiroka's not dead."
"Not…dead?! NOT DEAD?! THEN WHAT DO YOU CALL THIS?" Yashiro roared as he clutched Hiroka's body tightly and fiercely stared down Fugaku.
"That's just an extremely realistic living clone made from a special organism. Look, it's reverting back to its original state now," Fugaku replied coldly.
Yashiro couldn't help but feel a twinge of hope as he turned again and almost yelped in surprise as what he saw was a man with yellow eyes and green whose skin was a highly unnatural pure white that looked more like plant fibre than flesh. The previous red blood had become a slimy translucent liquid. Yashiro threw away the thing in disgust.
"What…what is the meaning of this?!"
Instead of answering, Fugaku gestured forward and pointed at the other side of the hall, where the curtains had been drawn open at some point without Yashiro's noticing.
Yashiro's gaze followed and saw the form of his wife laying down on a bed.
"She's merely unconscious, check for yourself," Fugaku encouraged.
The grieved man rushed over immediately. He became visibly relaxed upon confirming Fugaku's words, and leaned down to kiss Hiroka on the forehead.
After a brief reprieve, Yashiro regained his composure and faced Fugaku seriously before kneeling down.
"My sincerest apologies, Fugaku-sama, this lowly one had eyes but they were too blind to see Mt. Tai! This lowly one shall cherish this gift with all his life and blood!" Yashiro aggressively smashed his head against the cold floor in a kowtow of repentance.
"Don't thank me, Yashiro. Raise your head and learn of the secret that will deliver unto the Uchiha our rightful place in the sun! Learn of the man who mastered all the secrets of the Sharingan, and bestowed upon you your new powers without sacrificing a loved one!" Fugaku raved fanatically and flourished his arm in a dramatic gesture toward the wooden statue of Madara.
Yashiro raised his head and saw Fugaku looking like he was witnessing the descent of his god upon the mortal plane. Yashiro cautiously followed Fugaku's gaze and saw…the wooden statue of Madara.
Just as he was about to question Fugaku's sanity, he began questioning his own sanity as the statue started emitting an unholy red light and started to move. It rose stiffly from the seated meditative position and took a step forward. Right before Yashiro's eyes, this wooden statue transformed from wood into a perfect replica of his ancestor, complete with creaking ancient battle armor. Madara was a perfect picture of youth and vitality with his lustrous black hair that extended to his waist without a hint of wrinkles, and looked down upon Yashiro with cold Sharingan eyes. They were not in the Mangekyou state, but the sheer force of Yin chakra pressing down on the stunned Yashiro made his soul quiver as if he was not in an Uchiha base but had at some point fallen into the abyss without noticing.
"Hm…not bad. You've been able to keep the Mangekyou active this long for your first time. I would suggest you turn it off as you will go blind if you use it frivolously." Madara advised with a hint of a smile. Whether intentional or not, this attempt at a smirk came with an aura that seemed like a devil about to viciously slaughter his victim, turning his overwhelmingly handsome face into an object of unspeakable terror that could make children flee in tears with but a glance.
Yashiro immediately turned off the Mangekyou, looked down, and kowtowed again. "This humble one is in awe of your majesty, sire! There are no words to describe the endless gratitude this servant has for the magnificent gift lord ancestor has seen fit to bestow!"
"Che, stop groveling, it's unbecoming of an Uchiha! I am not moved by such obvious flattering," Madara criticized while wooden hands emerged from the floor and grabbed Yashiro, forcefully helping him to stand upright.
"W-wood release! It's really wood release!" Yashiro exclaimed involuntarily as he was manhandled.
"That's right…legend has it that Madara Uchiha was killed by Hashirama Senju at the Valley of the End, but as you can see, that muppet died pathetically from his wounds, while the true winner of that battle was ME, Madara Uchiha!"
Not far away the "dead" white Zetsu crawled over on four limbs leaving a trail of white liquid with a crazed smile on its face, pieces of its body near the sword wound falling away like a zombie. Although it was faint, Yashiro could make out some slurred speech from the undead clone thing, "Maaadaraa-samaaa…neeed chaaa..kra…"
Fugaku and Madara showed no hint of noticing it.
Madara made grasping motions as his two hands curved up to form a semi circle in front of him. "And now…I have returned to bring the world the peace of Uchiha rule!"
Yashiro was finally convinced as comprehension dawned on him. Indeed, this was a secret of grave importance to the clan and its future! A secret that would shake the whole Elemental Nations!
The once ultimate leader of the Uchiha clan, whose power was written into legend and kept the Nine-Tails as a pet, whose famous battles against Hashirama Senju literally reshaped the land, this supposedly dead nightmare whose name was now used to scare children was not only very much still alive, but had also obtained the power of his former greatest rival!
Yashiro saw it now. He had been duped into consorting with devils in human skin. He could only hope that his precious wife and child would live a good life before these madmen dragged the world down to hell. But then again…he got the Mangekyou out of this. '…worth it,' he thought to himself.
The next day Fugaku led his loyal clansman Gensei Uchiha down a dark passageway that opened up to a wide circular hall.
"Gensei, you have served the Uchiha well these years. You are undoubtedly one of the most skilled Sharingan users among us, and your loyalty..."
O O O
Young Kabuto was carrying the two-year old Naruto in his arms while sitting on the Orphanage rooftop.
"Do you miss Nonou?" Naruto asked, with no sign of baby speech.
Kabuto sighed while looking at the clouds. "Of course…but I'm more worried about her than anything." Ever since he had discovered this baby was a prodigy far beyond even himself, he had been spending more of this time with Naruto rather than the slow-witted children of the orphanage.
"You know she's probably not coming back," Naruto said coldly.
"Don't say that! She'll definitely come back safely…" Kabuto flicked Naruto's forehead. "Damn it!" Kabuto sighed again. Unwillingly, he thought back to that day one month ago…
O O O
He was hiding behind the wall as he overheard the two hooded shinobi and the man with the bandaged face blackmail Nonou into accepting a mission to infiltrate the Rock village. As the conversation continued, the despicable group of three demanded a child from the orphanage to join their Root program. His heart clenched as he thought of what would await any child taken.
"Besides, if you just ask, maybe one of them would want to chance to become a ninja."
Upon hearing this, Kabuto decided he would take the burden onto himself.
When the three ninja gathered the children outside and asked if any wanted to join them, Kabuto took a a few steps forward. Nonou was completely blindsided as she saw this, not understanding how a kind child like Kabuto could possibly be interested in ROOT. The other children faintly cried out, stunned that one of their brothers would want to leave them. Meanwhile, Danzo observed expectantly.
Then suddenly, a shrill voice could be heard shouting, "Stinkin' man, nobody wants to play fake ANBU! We've all the seen the real ones and they're way cooler than you!"
Everyone looked around until they found the source of the disturbance close to the ground. It was a tiny kid who looked like he should be in a carriage.
"Naruto! You're not supposed to be outside!" Nonou rushed over to pick him up.
"Look, there's one right there, and he doesn't smell like poop the way your right arm does," Naruto said as he pointed at the trees after he was cradled in Nonou's arms.
Everyone except the three ROOT ninjas looked over and saw nothing there. Nonou thought she caught a glimpse of something moving and was momentarily dumbfounded. How did this kid detect the presence of an elite ANBU that even she barely noticed?
Danzou narrowed his only good eye at the boy. He was disturbed by the reference to his arm and wondered if there was actually some side effects from the operation Orochimaru performed on him. He sent a small wave of killing intent to increase his presence and scare the kids into submission.
The kids all noticeably wilted under his gaze. However, in the next moment, Naruto spoke up again, "I don't like the way you're looking at me, dumbass, you sick of living?"
Everyone forgot the tense situation for a moment as they were stunned, wondering when this kid learned to act like an aggressive delinquent.
Then their thoughts went out the window when a huge pressure descended, everyone present felt as if they could barely breath. The ground beneath Nonou actually cracked slightly.
As soon as it came, the pressure disappeared, leaving no trace that it had ever been real except the spider-web like seams that had formed underneath Nonou. What followed was Naruto's voice again. "Your ugly face could use some more bandages, freak!"
Danzo, Orochimaru, and Tatsuma finally lost their composure as the first two backed away slightly as an automatic response as if meeting a major threat, while the latter jumped several metres back as his insect colonies went haywire.
"This chakra…nine is indeed different from the rest…" Orochimaru murmured to himself with wide eyes, but Danzo managed to catch it.
"Hmpf. So be it. We shall take our leave then." Danzo quickly decided not to push the issue further lest Hiruzen was alarmed. Not that Hiruzen wouldn't already be concerned, given the ANBU that would obviously report back, but at least there was no real proof of the blackmail. It would be another matter entirely if the jinchuuriki lost control of the demon chakra here.
O O O
After that, Kabuto grew much closer to Naruto, while all the other children stayed far away due an unconscious fear of the overwhelming chakra pressure they had been subject to.
Naruto slapped Kabuto's hand away. "But it's true. These types of missions are usually fatal. Either she's discovered as a spy, gets killed on missions for them, or killed when she's trying to come back for doing too many things for the enemy, especially if she had to kill our shinobi along the way to keep her cover, and nobody can tell who she's really loyal to."
"And how would you know that? You're just a baby." The logic sounded clear to Kabuto, but how did Naruto learn of all this?
"I'm not a baby! I'm a reincarnated old soul. If you agree to become my underling, I can tell you how to save Nonou."
Kabuto looked at Naruto suspiciously. However, inside he already believed it. What else could explain Naruto's unnatural intelligence, knowledge, and ability to manipulate chakra when nobody taught him anything? The caretakers assumed Kabuto had taught him, but obviously Kabuto knew better.
"OK, I'll be your underling, boss. How do we save Nonou?" He thought he sounded funny calling a kid still in diapers boss, but it had to be done.
Naruto crossed his arms and somehow managed to seem as if he was looking down on Kabuto with a smug expression. "There's hope for you yet, minion. But there's no we this time. I am already taking care of it."
O O O
As Nonou returned to her temporary lodgings in a small village in Fire Country on her path to the Land of Earth, she sat down on the bed and was lost in her thoughts. Although she knew that ROOT's presence was alerted to the Hokage, she still felt there was no choice but to accept their demands. Having been a long-time member of ROOT, she knew their methods, and knew that while the ANBU could watch Naruto 24/7, they couldn't watch everyone else and the children could not be expected to never go out of the orphanage.
'A special child indeed…' she thought back to that time when Naruto forced the ROOT three away, and stopped Kabuto from joining foolishly. At least that was one worry off her back.
Then suddenly, she felt faint as her chakra rapidly drained away.
"…!"
As she fell onto the bed, her clothes ripped apart from the inside, and she saw strange bulbous plant organisms growing from her body. They rapidly expanded and formed naked pure white cellulosic things in the shape of men with golden eyes and creepy smiles. They were connected to her via what appeared to be their arms which were like plant stems sucking on her flesh, draining away all her chakra.
Then, the door to her room opened and a man in black robes and fabulously lustrous black hair with a metallic blue tinge that any woman could be jealous of walked in. He wore a tight fitting white mask with two eye holes and a painted black oval for a mouth that made it look like a screaming ghost.
The man confidently strode over to the bed and looked down on her.
"Nonou Yakushi. Former captain of the medic corps, retired ROOT ninja, top-class intelligence agent. Ordered to investigate plans of an Iwa sneak attack," the man listed off in one breath.
Nonou felt her heart sinking as she thought her mission had somehow been compromised before it had even started, or maybe it was a set-up from the beginning?
"There's no need to panic. I am not an Iwa shinobi or one of Danzo's dogs," The man reassured as if reading her mind. "In fact, I am your ally."
He bent down and cupped her chin, gazing intently into her eyes. Nonou caught the three-tomoed Sharingan staring at her.
Her eyes widened in disbelief, before she gasped, "An Uchiha? What do you want?"
"I want many things, woman. You, for example." he responded without skipping a beat.
Nonou's face twitched.
"I want your skills, your brains, and mostly importantly…I need you to continue taking care of the children at the orphanage."
At that, Nonou mind drew a blank. What interest did the Uchiha clan have in her orphanage?
Then the man straightened back up. The plantmen also removed their appendages. One of them shapeshifted into a perfect replica of Nonou.
Nonou struggled a bit before getting back up from the bed. The man continued before she had a chance to ask anything.
"This one here shall become Nanigashi. As for you, if you want to see your precious children again, then you will become Natsuki Uchiha, a woman rescued by an Uchiha clansman during the war, and taken to Nonou's orphanage for treatment. You fell in love with Ryohi Uchiha and became his mistress. You were also moved by the kindness of the orphanage caretakers and decided to learn the medical arts which you had an astonishing talent for. The Uchiha clan thus granted you the name of Uchiha and kept you as their secret medical specialist. After the unfortunate death of Ryohi Uchiha due to incurable disease six months ago, you were lost in mourning until now. You were approached by Nonou Yakushi and decided to repay your debt of being healed from near death by helping out while she's busy on a long-term mission."
Nonou listened raptly. After a moment of silence, she looked at the new Nanigashi and back to the masked man. "Why…are you doing this?"
The man didn't answer straight away and instead walked over to the window, looking out at the setting sun.
"Why should children face the terrors of war? Why do ninja exist? Is it just to kill, destroy, and fight in an endless cycle of hatred? Even though the constant bloodshed of the clan war era is over, nothing has really changed. Clans banded together, forming villages, and countries fought wars on an even bigger scale. Where is the peaceful childhood that Konoha was formed to protect? Even in supposed peace, we are still at war in the shadows!" The man thrust out a fist covered in a black glove.
"Hashirama Senju once insisted on giving away weapons of mass destruction to the other great villages, while bending the knee to the feudal lords that hire ninjas to create more war for their selfish ends. Tobirama Senju perpetuated hate between the other nations in the name of 'balance' and invented horrific techniques that force the dead to continue fighting and drag the living with them into hell. And now we see the results of their madness," The man slandered shamelessly, his booming voice shaking Nonou to the core.
Nonou stood up with the urge to protest but found no words to refute the words that were technically true.
"Scum like Danzo who have forgotten the meaning of the word protect have infested our village, and all around the Elemental Nations greed and hate dominate. We, the Uchiha, are tired of this worthless reality. It's time for the true ninja way to return to the light!" The masked man had turned back around to face Nonou and cupped the setting sun behind him.
"This world needs protectors, healers, and all those who value life and justice! This world does not need ninja that fight for money, power, and hate! This world needs ninja that fight for the weak and powerless, for the children untainted by sin, for love and the pursuit of happiness!"
The man rushed forward and grabbed onto Nonou's shoulders.
"This world needs ninja like you! Natsuki Uchiha, hope of summer, mother of the innocent!"
Nonou had a complicated look on her face as she contemplated the lengthy answer that didn't actually answer her question. But there was no doubt that it was appealing to her. "I will accept your offer. What can I call you, Uchiha-san?"
"My name is...Madara!" He responded with an appropriately dramatic pause and emphasis on his glorious name.
"..." Nonou couldn't help but glance at the new "Nanigashi" which continued to maintain a creepy smile and wondered if this masked megalomaniac suffering from chuunibyou, er...post-undercover delusion syndrome, could really pull off the infiltration mission to Iwa.
O O O
A/N: Well this took a lot longer than I thought. Natsuki is formed from the characters "Natsu" (Summer) and "Ki" (Hope).