AUTHOR NOTE: - Park Otsutsuki: Yes Indra's going to make an appearance soon and he's also an important side character in my story! You read my mind :3
- Lalaa14: Since Naori had like 5 minutes of screen time, I'm not surprised that many pp don't know her, including me lol :) I barely know her through a few Tiktok videos about the Uchiha. Her character design is very pretty so it immediately piqued my interest!
Others: Thank you for your kind words! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter too. Again, reviews are really appreciated!
*kinjutsu: forbidden technique
CHAPTER 2: A TEMPTING OFFER
"Those whom God wishes to destroy, he drives mad." ― Leo Tolstoy
The Uchiha massacre happened a year after Shisui's suicide.
On that night, when the winding road leading to the Uchiha clan compound grew ghostly with the light of a late-risen moon, Uchiha Itachi made his move.
It took the young genius only one night to annihilate his whole clan, with the support of none other than a certain traitor - Obito Uchiha. The massacre was not met with much protest since both Itachi and Obito's prowess have far exceeded all other members of their clan. The young boy has personally decided to end his parents lives by his own hands, despite Obito's generous offer to finish them off instead.
How many lives were lost on that fateful day?
Naori has stopped counting after the 40th corpses. Many of them are children, elders, or even worse, a young woman with a pregnant belly that must have passed its 20 weeks.
The downfall of the Uchiha isn't something entirely unexpected. It was clearly foreshadowed the moment her ancestors awoke their Sharingan for the first time. Yet the scenes of merciless slaughtering made her sick to the stomach. Stains of blood splattered in every corner and the scent of death hovered the whole compound in its sickening veil.
Naori slowly floats through her "former house" – or rather – her niece's house as it was passed down to her sister after her death. Her niece - Uchiha Naoko's body has already grown cold, head rests contentedly on her husband's chest. Itachi did end their suffering quickly, with a clean, sharp cut on their neck's artery.
Upon coming closer, Naori gives a long, wistful gaze at the woman's wavy purple hair and faint smile – both traits bear the striking resemblance to her own that it almost feels like she's looking at her own corpse.
The uncanny resemblance was so suffocating that the ghost is once again reminded of how she died. Lying in a pool of blood, her only remaining eye gouged out the moment she took her last breath. Despite the horrendous state her corpse was in, a faint smile still remained on her once beautiful facade.
She died with the knowledge that her friends were safe. They would carry on her will and with them, her clan would continue to prosper. Her sacrifice wasn't meaningless and she wouldn't hesitate to do it again if it means her people would live.
Yet the whole scene in front of her, the very scene of slaughtering and murder is not the future she wanted when she laid her life down for the sake of others.
After years of floating aimlessly around the village, the only purpose left for the lonely Uchiha is to watch over her people and pray for their safety. Yet her clansmen are all gone now, and Naori could never join them in heaven. She is left wander here alone, on the sad place called Earth to repent for whatever sins she had made without knowing.
The bitter reality finally broke her.
Naori lets out a prolong piercing cry of pain, of anger, despair and loneliness. For the first time, she feels resentful. For the first time, instead of saving people, she wants to kill. She wants to kill those responsible for the death of her people: Itachi, Obito, Danzo, and anyone connected to this inhuman tragedy.
The thirst for revenge consumes her heart, engulfs her into its embrace. Then instead of tears, the wet stream trickling down her cheeks is blood.
Her eyesight blurs as her pupils started spinning violently, splitting in and out to form a shape of a four-petal flower.
Uchiha Naori's Izanagi has awoken at her very first moment of rage.
Then, with a shrill sudden sound through the long empty passage, white blinding light appears and surrounds her. The Uchiha compound fades away as the light draws her in, devours her, and drowns her in complete nothingness.
Letting the light taking her to whatever destination it desires, Naori doesn't bother to deactivate her Izanagi as she enjoys the sensation the pupils spinning in her eye sockets brought upon. It has been so long since she last felt this alive. Her Izanagi must have lasted for a few minutes already, yet she feels no hint of chakra exhaustion or eye sight damage – the usual symptoms often linked with excessive use of Izanagi.
It makes sense, she is a ghost after all. What's the point of a ghost possessing the Izanagi when she couldn't even touch a human body without floating through it.
"You've finally awoken the Izanagi. Took you long enough, my child!"
A disembodied flat voice calls out to her from above.
Naori stares with disinterest at the man who suddenly appears out of nowhere. The stranger seems to be quite young. He has long brown hair with two locks framed either side of his face and a weird cut-short pair of eyebrows. The man wears a high-collared, light-colored kimono shirt which was adorned with magatama. Although what makes him stand out is not his unusual choice of clothes, but his burning red Sharingan, which takes the appearance of swirled lines originating from his pupils.
For some unknown reasons, or just purely due to her hereditary subconscious memory, Naori immediately knows who he is the moment her Sharingan met his. He is the progenitor of her clan – their Father and God – and the sole reason the Uchiha clan is eternally binded with the Curse of Hatred – Indra Otsutsuki.
Their so-called Father- Indra is assessing her silent response with a grim expression, he asks her again, with the same flat voice that sounds so contradictory with his fierce appearance.
"Do you understand the reason you're summoned here?"
Naori is quietly observing the God in front of her when his question clicks.
The reason?
Not only this man knows her, Indra is also obviously aware of her bizarre circumstances (How many dead Uchiha were left wander around for decades anyway?) which could only mean that he is the one who bounded her soul to Earth, forcing her to go through this never-ending cycle of pain and helplessness while watching her clan members rot one by one.
The sole reason for her insanity. Their insanity!
"Why did you do this?" She unintendedly lets out a huff. Her words sound more like an accusation than an actual question.
Indra closes his eyes, his permanently young face twists strangely in a mix of irritation and sadness as he explains.
"To let you see the consequences The curse of Hatred would bring to your clan. Yes, I'm the one who binded you to the world of the Living even when you're already dead. I want you to see what'd happened after you die because you're the only one who can fix it. But only when you'd awaken both Izanami and Izanagi that you're qualified to undertake my mission."
"Why should I be the one to fix it? It's your entire fault!" Naori spits out. Her Sharingan flares up dangerously at his ridiculous statement.
The God seems to be quite perplexed at her comment. Granted! It is his own fault that the Uchiha suffers from the Curse. Due to his selfish and jealousy against his brother, his offspring is permanently chained by the Curse. Insanity runs in the family, hereditarily speaking.
"I didn't expect you to be this petty when I choose you for this mission." Her God sounds like he's already on the verge of regretting his own decision.
"Anyone would act like me if they have to wander as a ghost for the whole 40 years!" She retorts, though Naori has slowly recovered parts of her calm exterior.
"My method might seem cruel, but I don't have any choice. You didn't awaken your Izanagi till the massacre, and my mission needs this pair of kinjutsu to work."
Naori keeps her head down, suddenly feeling ashamed of the hidden disappointment behind his words. She looks no different than a little child being scolded for her incompetence.
"Then what is your mission? My clan is already annihilated, and I'm just a ghost!"
Indra regards her with a scrutinizing look, then nods his head in agreement.
"That's correct. You cannot do a thing when you're dead. That's why I summoned you here, to give you a second chance in life. You'd be reincarnated as an Uchiha again, this time in a different timeline, so you can fix things that I cannot."
Indra stops his musing when he recognizes the shock expression written all over her face. He purses his mouth in a self-satisfied smirk and waits a beat before adding. "As a God, I cannot directly interfere with the World of Living, but messing up with the reincarnation cycle is within my grasp."
Naori gasps as she proceeds this perplexing piece of puzzle. The whole situation already feels unreal, yet the Otsutsuki has time and time again managed to throw her completely off guard.
"I am a God after all. I can at least grant you that much. If only tormenting your soul can save my descendants, then I'd gladly do it again and again."
The Uchiha grimaces at her Ancestor's cruel remark, yet she couldn't help but voice her concern.
"Why me? And how can I save them? I already lost one eye in exchange for casting Izanami. How many times do I need to cast this kinjutsu to save all of them?"
The Otsutsuki snorts at her before explaining.
"I'm glad you asked. There're reasons why I've chosen you to be the one reincarnated, not Shisui or Itachi, even though the three of you are ones of the few not fallen for the Curse of hatred. You cannot imagine how delighted I am when you first activated Izanami - the kinjutsu specifically designed as a reprimand for those who lost their way, out of your love and sympathy for a friend. I know at that time that you're destined to save our clan." Indra throws her another of his accusing looks.
"Yet you died too young, for a very stupid reason I might say, and unable to pass on your legacy. Itachi could be a candidate too, since he would be able to activate Izanami in the future. But the boy's belief is completely different from you. He has chosen to destroy his clan for the sake of "Peace", and now you think I'm going to entrust this mission to him?"
Naori holds her gaze steadily as her head's spinning to proceed his information. After a long moment of silence, she sighs defeatedly.
"Your reasons sound convincing. But how do I save them? I am not strong enough to defeat either Itachi or Obito, and my eyes would go blind after a few uses of Izanami. I would die again before I manage to save any of them."
Indra let out a loud bark of dry laughter at her question. As he struggles to steady himself, the God grins at her mischievously.
"You're speaking to the Creator of Sharingan and you dare to ask such stupid question. Honestly didn't it cross your mind that I've already prepared a solution for you. My child, I'd give you a hack, a Godly ability that could make any Uchiha rage with jealousy. You will be granted the ability to use all advanced forms of Sharingan with unlimited number of uses without going blind or experiencing chakra exhaustion. This is the ultimate ability that I've only granted for the Rinnegan user."
Ignoring the disbelief look in Naori's eyes, Indra goes on. "However, this ability isn't given freely without any precautionary measures. I only bestow this honor under the condition of saving your clan, not for power-hungry Uchiha to abuse it for any selfish desire."
Indra looks straight at her while his tomoes continue to spin, as if to hypnotize its victim. Through his eyes, she could see the cruelty and sadness tormenting and struggling with each other, like two sides of the coin existing together in his soul.
The God continues his warning. His voice's harsh and void of any emotions.
"If you ever kill any of your clan members, your Sharingan will turn against you and devour your soul completely. There will be no heaven, no after life, no reincarnation anymore. You're finished, gone, completely eradicated. You're free to beat your fellow Uchiha to their senses, but killing them will trigger the trap I planted on you. Can you do it?"
Naori looks down at her own feet, her eyes have turned back to normal while her killing intent completely vanished. So no killing, huh? She has awoken her Izanagi due to her desire to kill and now this man told her not to kill any of them.
As if reading her thought, Indra sighs deeply.
"That's why I have to wait till you awaken your Izanagi in order to summon you here. I know that you're strong mentally, but I cannot risk letting you fall in the darkness to awaken all of Sharingan's advanced forms. Your heart needs to be pure for this plan to work. Even if it means you would have to sacrifice yourself once again…So…would you accept my offer?"
When Indra asked again, he finds her regarding him with the clearest, steadiest gaze in the world, the same gaze his younger brother Asura once possessed. It was pure, inquiring, speculative but firm and void of any doubt.
Indra knows that his intuition has been correct all along, she is the right choice.
"I accept your mission. Please bring me back to life, Indra-sama."