Hello, and welcome to the next chapter!
christianjuresty; Thanks for the votes!
Clarent excalibur; Thanks for the votes! Yeah, he'll get his own Susanoo. It could be white. Hehe, Karin might end up doing stuff like that. They did yeah~ Kurama could notice something like that after a while.
HolyKnightX; Thanks very much! Karin will do yeah, this chapter will build a bit more on Karin. He wanted to help his brother out yeah. Those names actually do look pretty cool, thanks for the suggestions, and votes!
Zero-Alpha00; Thanks for the votes!
InnocentxPsycho; Yeah, we never really found out what individual power he had, in one of the games he could turn back time it seemed so maybe that's one. Thanks for the votes! White is a good choice for the colour. That would be cool if it was a shield like that.
ShadowUzumaki55; She has yeah! Hehe yeah, he didn't know it was Tsunade until much later. I'm sure Izumi would be sad to know she didn't get the chance to speak to Tsunade. Ooh yeah, Karin will have moments like that in the future. Karin will come to see that the marks don't matter to Ryouta or anyone else. Fugaku's beginning to realize his own errors when it comes to Ryouta, and is trying in his own way to make amends for that. Ryouta will be able to use all aspects of the Sharingan, and he might copy some others Jutsu's. They have yeah, we'll soon see about that~ Thanks for the votes!
Tsukoblue; I'll consider it.
coldblue2015; Thanks for the votes! Those names sound pretty cool! Yup, Haku and Karin are now in the story. Hehe they surely are starting their rivalry~ No worries~
Silver crow; Thanks. Yup, we got them introduced. Tsunade and Shizune made a small appearance yeah~ I know what you meant. Yup, Karin's appeared now. She's had some bites, but chose to run away. Shisui did feel responsible for it, even though he wasn't to know about it. Yeah, Ryouta's trying to move on from Yashiro. She really does like chakra. Satsuki does kind of like Hinata. Maybe it was a hint, something seems different about it to Karin. That's Danzo for you. He'll be renowned for a few things. Yup, that's how some Uchiha are. He did yeah, he thought the Hokage would be able to help. Izumi was quite cute huh. In his own way, he's showing some affection to Haku, we'll see more of their bond developing rather soon. Well, you never know, Zabuza could do. That would be cool for a bet. That would be a cool line to say. Hashirama and Tobirama will have a few things to say. It would have been cool to have been acknowledged. He could learn those Jutsu's. He could do yeah. Ameyuri's got a role to play in the story, that's all I can say about that. Ino could use them yeah, it would make sense with some stuff she's shown in canon. Can't reveal if he will get a Jutsu like that. He could do yeah. Putting his spin on it like adding his own elements to it, or maybe multiple elements or something. He couldn't learn Tsukuyomi, but he'll be able to use Genjutsu to a high degree. Pakura could do. He could be. We'll see what happens with that if that is the story wins. It isn't a certain thing, I thought about some of the other Longinus' which could be cool. There's gonna be a few different things with Experiment Fairy if it wins. Thanks for the suggestions!
ramirezhuizar00; Thanks for the votes! That sounds like a cool name! Yeah, the more he uses it, the more chakra drainage would happen.
War Sage; Thanks for the votes! Yeah, it could be white. It surely has~ It's a shame it isn't used more, even smaller Genjutsu's, they can be rather useful. Shisui's a Jonin at this point. He wouldn't want to work under Fugaku and other Uchiha due to what happened with Ryouta. Karin did have a hard time. Near the end of the first year. Maybe she could. I'm sure Konoha would like some more people with recognizable names yeah. Thanks for the suggestions!
Skull Flame; Yeah, Karin's gonna have a strong role going forward. It could be a reference to that. Zabuza is yeah~
Unzueta; Yeah, they might end up fighting one another. Zabuza is a strong opponent alright, it could be a little tricky for Shisui. Thanks for the votes, and yeah they would be~
wtfstarftw; Thanks for the suggestions! Yeah, I might do some of the movies.
Andrew123456; Thanks for the votes! Yeah, that would be cool~ Thanks for the suggestions!
Guest 1; Thanks! Thanks for the votes, and harem suggestions!
BloodRaven46; Thanks for the votes! Those are cool names! Thanks for the suggestions!
MDM11; Thanks for the votes! He could learn a few of those things. Yeah those could be added~ Thanks for the suggestions!
maxbrevan; Thanks very much! Thanks for the votes! He will have Susanoo yeah. Colour, maybe white or a silvery colour. I still am yeah, those look good to me!
Momentei; I've thought about it before, that sounds like a fun premise to try out~
Brainstorm Sorcerer; Thank you very much! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! I'm happy you like Ryou. That's really nice to say, thank you very much~ It is a favourite of mine also, and as you said, I'd like Ryouta to be different to Satsuki, but also not be behind in terms of power either. Rasengan is a Jutsu that can be changed depending on who's wielding it, while Chidori is the same regardless who's got it. Purple Lightning is pretty cool~ Ooh, I can't reveal if she is a Senju or not, it's a good chance she could be. His Rasengan could have a different colour, not sure yet, it would if he added a nature element to it. The design of his Mangekyou I can't reveal just yet, it will be revealed eventually~ He and Kurama will have a very interesting dynamic between them. It is going to be fun when Lee, and Ryou meet Kakashi and Guy in their rivalry like manner. A Lightning Rasengan could be cool, a Water one also would be fun to play around with. Thanks very much for the votes! Yeah, regardless of Mangekyou, I do plan on having Ryouta being good at Genjutsu.
synode; Thanks! Eh, depending on length, this chapter, which is about the usual length of most of my other ones, took me about four days to write, with an hour and a half each day to write due to real life commitments only allowing me small times to write, so adding it together, it took me about six hours spanning four days. Thanks for the suggestions!
BookWorm627; That would be a pretty cool ability, thanks for the suggestions, and votes!
Pinkflamingwarriorofjustice; Yeah, I'll answer them in order~ I wont be continuing that, this is the new version. There's things about it I didn't like, and thought could have done better so I decided to do it here. I can't reveal much about either of them, but both Izumi and Shisui have good roles to play in the story. Yeah, those would be pretty cool~ Kaguya huh, she might do~ Anko, I haven't fully decided yet, she could be. Those, I can't reveal about, but maybe some good people might survive. No worries, and thanks very much!
Nothing; Thanks for the votes! Those are some cool suggestions!
Guest 2; Thanks for the votes, and suggestions!
Redwing; Thanks for the votes! Yeah, Karin's joined the Leaf now! She will act like that when older. Thanks for the suggestions! Yeah him being somewhat trained could be a thing.
Lightwave; They did yeah, Ryouta wanted to help his elder brother, and that's the only way he could do it. Maybe one day they will. Thanks for the votes, and suggestions!
Neonlight01; Thanks for the votes!
Guest 3; Thanks for the votes!
helios darkus; Thanks for the votes! Devil Slayer is a possible magic, I haven't fully decided yet. Yeah, that's a pretty cool ability! It would be a unique blend of it.
Well, with those reviews out of the way, it's time to start the chapter!
Karin's worries!
As Shisui was on his mission, he was accompanied by Sugaru, speaking to one another casually as they jumped through a few trees. Having finished, they were quite drained of their chakra, even Shisui had to admit that the mission did exhaust him quite a bit.
"So Sugaru-san, what do you do for fun?"
"Fun? I, don't know."
Shisui showed a playful smile.
"Come on now, there's got to be some kind of fun involved for you. Tell me something you enjoy doing."
"I, can't think of anything. Tell me, something you do for fun."
"Well, I've got a number of things I love doing for fun. I like fishing, that's quite fun."
Sugaru got into a thinking pose.
"Hmmm...I believe, I may like collecting different insects."
"Insects huh. Makes sense with the whole Aburame clan stuff."
"I, suppose it does. Tell me, Shisui Uchiha, is it...nice to have a family?"
Shisui thought that was an odd question to have.
"Nice...yeah, it's amazing to have a family. You don't realize what's missing until it's gone. Like my Mom and Dad, I didn't think much about it when they were here, but now that they're gone...yeah, it's tough. That's why I'm glad I have Ryou."
Shisui's words seemed to strike a chord within Sugaru who contemplated what was being said.
Shisui saw that he paused for a moment, so he raised an eyebrow.
"Something on your mind?"
"No, there's nothing at all."
Shisui heard his reply.
But he felt as if it was disingenuous.
Exhaling slowly, Shisui had a question on his mind.
"If you don't mind me asking, I remember you saying about how you got that scar on your throat. How old were you when that happened?"
"Five. Why do you ask?"
"It's...It's just, I'm sure you heard what happened with my brother a few months ago. With Yashiro Uchiha and all."
"Yes, I have heard. I, extend my apologies that I did not run faster that day."
Shisui shook his head as they continued hopping through the trees.
"Don't worry about that, no one could've known. I was only asking because, what happened with my brother and all, I keep wondering why he would attempt to do that to my brother. Either way, good thing he's gone now."
"Yes...it is a good thing."
Shisui lightly chortled.
"You're very odd, you know that?"
Sugaru cocks his head.
"I'm, odd?"
"That's right, you're very odd. But it's okay, I think you're pretty cool~"
As they were running and jumping, Shisui noticed the signs of them being followed.
Remaining calm and composed, he got himself ready to fight, and alerted Sugaru...but, it seemed as if he was already aware.
Just then, they were ambushed by a few Ninja, strong Ninja that had to be Jonin level at least, came shooting for the duo.
Shisui saw their headbands, seeing that each had scratches across them, making them Ninja that had abandoned their villages.
Shisui counted ten in all, and saw the five in the front weaving hand signs, and were making water Jutsu's, so Shisui weaved through his own hand signs, faster than even Sugaru was capable of keeping up with them.
[Water Release, Water Bullet Jutsu!]
They all chanted, allowing their chakra to form water, and shoot it towards Shisui and Sugaru.
Shisui finished with his Jutsu, and placed a cupped hand to his mouth before announcing his Jutsu.
"Fire Release, Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Despite it being an easy Jutsu to pull off, Sugaru was amazed by the power behind it.
It was huge, it was bigger than his body easily, even two of him would be smaller than the size of the fireball.
The flames broke through the water attacks easily, and kept going, so the men and women summoned a water wall before them, with the flames clashing against it, but the flames were stronger than the water wall, evaporating the water, and slammed against their bodies.
Though thanks to the two water Jutsu's it powered through, it didn't significantly burn them.
But the wave of flames did manage to blast them down into the ground, allowing Shisui and Sugaru to land on the ground themselves.
The ones that weren't caught up in the attack stood at the ready, readying their swords, and other weapons.
"Shisui Uchiha, I've heard that you aren't someone to be messed with. Haha, I wouldn't mind taking you out. People would pay a lot for someone like you, Shisui of the Body Flicker."
One of the men said with a disturbing look in his eyes, Shisui showed a smile.
"I'm famous, how pleasant."
He was smiling, but his eyes displayed a good amount of seriousness.
The man that spoke to Shisui showed his aggressive side, and looked on angrily.
"Grrr, don't show us that smile of yours! You wont be walking away from here with your freedom!"
"Right, then I guess I'll have to get serious." Shisui's eyes looked towards Sugaru. "Sugaru-san, I'll take the five in the back, you take these five."
"Yes, I shall."
Shisui used his famed speed to blitzed passed the people that tried to launch an attack on him, but he slipped by them, and got towards the others.
Their eyes shot for Shisui, who allowed his eyes to shine with the Sharingan.
"Forgive me."
Shisui disappeared, and then reappeared before one of the men, who tried to use an Earth Release Jutsu, but before he could even finish weaving the hand signs, Shisui had already sliced him down, turning towards another man who came at him with a sword, Shisui deflected it with his own blade, his eyes going for the man's, and activated his Sharingan Genjutsu, paralyzing him in place, before knocking him unconscious.
"S-Shit..."
"I-Is this really the power of Shisui Uchiha…?"
"W-We can't fight him!"
"Lets go!"
The men that were left looked stunned, scared, and tried to run away, but Shisui used his incredible speed to deal with them within moments, either using Genjutsu, or cutting them down with speed that many couldn't even see. They certainly couldn't see it, succumbing to Shisui's might.
As that happened, Sugaru allowed his insects to go outwards and swarm a bunch of the men and women within seconds after they tried to attack him with weapons, biting into them and infecting them with his own type of poison.
"W-What the hell?!"
"He's an Aburame member!"
They cried out as the bugs swarmed the men and women.
They tried to fight it, but the poison of Sugaru's took them down within moments, except for one of them which used a Fire Release Jutsu to burn down his insects, and sent it towards Sugaru himself, who formed a wall with his insects.
With the insects burning, Sugaru prepared to fight, when the man with fire allowed it to surround his katana, and swung for Sugaru, who used his knowledge on hand to hand to block it with his kunai, but the kunai was destroyed with the flaming katana.
"Tch, even if you're an Aburame, I wont be poisoned by your damn bugs. I'll show you why fire is a natural enemy to your bugs!"
Sugaru pulled back as the man weaved hand signs, and fired off a flamethrower like Jutsu towards him.
Sugaru protected himself with a sphere of insects…
But then the man threw a paper bomb towards him, causing it to explode the insects away enough for Sugaru to be confronted with a flaming sphere that was heading for him.
With no time to activate his insects…
Thankfully Shisui swept in, and grabbed him out of the air, then ran towards the man, without him being aware of it, sliced him down, and then he cried out, falling down to the floor, while Sugaru looked up towards Shisui.
"Seems like that one was the leader. Bit stronger than the rest."
"My error, I apologize."
Shisui waved him off.
"Naah, don't say things like that. It wasn't your error at all. That guy surprised me too, I thought he was like his friends. But, it seems that he wasn't half bad. I'd guess he was Low Jonin while the others were High Chunin at best, and with the mission we went on draining our chakra quite a bit, they picked a good time to attack. Well anyway, are you okay? Hurt anywhere?"
Sugaru shook his head.
But he thought about what had just happened.
Shisui...saved him.
Even though Danzo had said what his intentions with Shisui were, Shisui in fact showed kindness, and saved him while putting himself in danger.
Also seeing Shisui's skills, and general kindness up close, Sugaru wondered why Danzo viewed him as a threat against the village.
As Shisui was on his mission, Ryouta currently was training with Satsuki that day.
From a small distance, Hinata was watching on without being seen.
She didn't know why, but whenever she felt the urge to approach Ryouta...something always stopped her.
If it was others around, her own nervous feelings.
She wasn't sure.
But she was admiring his skills in battle, and how he trained so hard as well.
Even now, she could see that he was going rather strong, it was rather inspirational to see him being so dedicated.
As she watched, she saw that Karin also was watching from a distance.
Their eyes met, and neither said anything, just awkwardly looking away from one another.
"Come on then Ryou! Show me what you've got!"
Ryouta saw Satsuki coming in with a Taijutsu form, so he matched her, and blocked her first strike, only to see that she came from below, so he blocked that one also with his leg, before delivering one of his own blows with a sharp kick towards her upper body.
Bending out of the way, she pulled back and tossed some shuriken towards Ryouta. Though they were only practice ones so they couldn't be hurt by them, Ryouta took them on all the same, and blocked each and everyone of them before pulling forward and came at her by spinning his body around, gaining momentum, and delivering a kick to her right arm.
But she blocked with her arm, and the pair smirked at the other.
"Seems like that you're getting better Satsuki-chan. I'll have to try even harder."
"Heh, don't pretend you're not trying your hardest."
She smirked, mostly playfully since she knew that this was nowhere near his limits.
"I'm not, are you?"
"Not by a long shot."
Ryouta and Satsuki smiled this time, jumping back, and then weaved through some hand signs.
"Then, I'll show you this Jutsu Satsuki-chan!"
"Hmph, come on then."
Ryouta obliged, and got himself at the ready.
"Fire Release, Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"
Doing a technique that he saw Izumi do, and now thanks to the Sharingan copied perfectly, a flame sphere shot out, and erupting out of it was three balls of fire that chased down Satsuki, who used quick movement speed to dodge all of the flaming spheres, and allowed her to get up close to Ryouta, and weaved through some hand signs.
"Fire Release, Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Satsuki breathed in deeply, then out with a ball of fire being released.
Ryouta back flipped several times, before he tossed some shuriken to a nearby tree, attached with wire, and yanked himself out of the way, pulling him towards the tree as he swung through the air, something Satsuki thought made him look rather cool.
He made it to the tree, hanging off it to see Satsuki on the floor, panting. Even he was getting tired.
They had been doing it for a good hour now, so Ryouta thought it would be best if they stopped for the day.
Releasing the wire, he fell down to the floor, and smiled gently.
Hinata, who had been observing the fight, didn't know how to approach them, so in the end, she began walking away, something Ryouta noticed when she was making her hasty retreat away from them.
"Hmmm...I wonder why she didn't say anything…?"
Ryouta wasn't quite sure about what Hinata was doing.
But since it wasn't malicious, he didn't say anything.
Whenever he tried to speak to her, she usually took off, or was blushing or something akin to that.
He didn't notice Karin leaving, she had a knack for being able to come and go as she pleased, even making sure that she couldn't be sensed that well by others either, it was an amazing gift to have.
"What're you looking at?"
Ryouta shook his head.
"Nothing~ But, that was quite the workout, wasn't it Satsuki-chan?"
"Heh, giving up already Ryou?"
"I could go again~ But, I also have some lessons with Izumi-chan to get too soon."
Satsuki furrowed her brows.
"Izumi huh...what are you doing with her?"
"Just learning some basic medical stuff, that's all."
Satsuki raised an eyebrow.
"How come?"
"Just in case I need them, that's all. You never know, it might come in handy one day."
He replied gently, Satsuki shrugged.
"If that's what you want. Maybe I'll go and see if Hinata wants to train."
Ryouta wore surprise on his face.
The fact that she was willing to do that was astonishing, but it also made him happy that he was wanting to do that.
"Oh Hinata-san huh? Seems like you've become something of friends?"
"I don't know about that, but she bugs me the least within that Academy. Yeah, I'll go and see her probably, see what she's doing."
Ryouta smiled.
"I'm glad Satsuki-chan, that you're becoming friends with her."
"Well...I guess that she isn't so bad. Are you still teaching pinky and perky?"
"Pinky and perky...you mean Sakura-san and Ino-san?" Satsuki nods. "Yeah, we get together a few times a week, and train. They've become better in such a short time, their Taijutsu has improved, you'd be proud Satsuki-chan."
"Heh, maybe. Well, go have fun with Izumi."
"Yup, I'll go and have fun~ You too~"
Satsuki gave a slight smirk, before rolling her eyes.
"Get going then."
"Alright, see you later~"
Ryouta waved, and ran away, leaving Satsuki alone to smirk at the young boy, glad that he was doing better than before, and seemed to be getting stronger, which she was glad at, as it would give her a strong partner to train with also.
Arriving at the place Izumi was, he saw that her hands were glowing green as she ran them across a fish that was in the middle of a circle with a number of different letters surrounding it, almost looking like a seal of some kind, though couldn't be considered that.
"Izumi-chan, are you having fun doing that?"
"Naturally, just getting some Mystical Palm skills down. No biggie~"
"It's hard though, right?"
Izumi nodded without pausing.
"I'll say, precise chakra control for this Jutsu. It can be tough, and I've had a bit of difficulty in getting it down. But now it's not so bad to use it. I can use it a little bit, I've been training with it anyway~"
"It's a good Jutsu, I like the green colour~"
"Me too~ Now, I should teach you a few things while you're here. Today, I'm gonna show you how to properly check a wounded body, the Sharingan will also come in handy here, and be useful for a few different things that could be going on."
"Hehe, that's good Izumi-chan. It would be nice to be able to use medical stuff as well."
"Right~ Even if you're not a Medical Ninja, doing these things can help out in the long run. Even if it is just giving some basic treatment until a Medic can come onto the scene. Most Ninja's know a few basics, but when I've instilled this into you, who knows, you might be able to pull off the Mystical Palm Jutsu~"
Ryouta wouldn't mind learning that.
At least, so he could be more useful in battles besides just fighting.
"I'll try my best!"
"Good, then follow me my adorable student, and I'll show you how to do all sorts of different things~"
Ryouta watched as Izumi began teaching him all sorts of things.
After the events with Yashiro, Ryouta wasn't going to take the chance to miss out on learning this stuff. It did save his life, when Izumi managed to make a poison to help them, and if he could use it to just save one more persons life, then he knew this would be worth it.
A few days later, Shisui finally returned back home, and was walking together with Ryouta towards the Academy, moving through the Compound, and felt the tension being as thick as ever.
The people that supported Yashiro held anger for Ryouta.
They made it known with their words, and their general dislike being thrown towards Ryouta.
Even Izumi got it on occasion.
But Shisui was glad that he let it slide, and not to bother him.
"Shi-chan, did you have fun on the mission you had?"
"Yeah, it wasn't so bad. It seems Sugaru-san and I are becoming friends. Being teamed up together a good bit lately. He's not such a bad guy once getting to know him. He's rather...relaxed I'd say as a person."
Shisui spoke with kindness.
But he held back that he did feel as if Sugaru was...keeping something to himself.
"It's nice Shi-chan, that you've got a new friend."
"Yeah, and what about your friends huh? You've got a fair few now, haven't you?"
"I-I suppose so yeah. I'm glad that I get to spend time with my friends."
Shisui was glad that Ryouta did have a good deal of friends now.
"Speaking of, I've heard that you're helping Sakura-san and Ino-san. They've become a good deal close to you."
"Yeah, we're friends Shi-chan. Isn't that good?" Shisui nodded as Ryouta changed topics. "Not long now Shi-chan, and I'll be able to go on a mission with you~"
"Yeah, I spoke to Hokage-sama, and with you having some time off next week, the mission is going to be going ahead. Aah, it's going to be fun~"
"What's the mission?"
Shisui chortled, poking Ryouta's forehead.
"Don't worry about that, it's going to be a surprise for you~"
Ryouta tilted his head in curiosity.
"It's okay, I don't mind secrets Shi-chan. But it only makes me more excited for what's about to come!"
"Good, then we'll see what's going to happen next!"
Shisui cheered, and they marched all the way to the school themselves.
Upon arriving, Shisui departed from Ryouta, and he went to go and meet up with his friends.
Going into the classroom, Ryouta sat down in his seat next to Satsuki.
However, he saw that the eyes of Karin were going towards his own.
She was...a little odd.
Not in a bad way, but Ryouta felt as if something was going on, and he wasn't entirely sure what it was either.
But his thoughts were interrupted when he saw the Sensei come in to begin the lesson once more.
Later on, Shisui had to report with Itachi about the condition of the Uchiha, and what their developing relationship is with Konoha along within the Uchiha themselves.
Hiruzen wore a troubled face, while Danzo's eyebrows furrowed.
"This isn't sounding like we're heading for peace, Hiruzen. We need to take action."
Danzo began, Shisui and Itachi didn't say anything, but it was clear the disdain they held for Danzo and his reckless ways.
"I am well aware Danzo. But the incident that happened with Ryouta and Izumi Uchiha is bound to cause anger, and heartache, on both sides. They're both Uchiha, and members of Konoha."
"The Uchiha will use it as a sign of weakness on our part. That no member of Konoha managed to help save either of those two Uchiha. In fact, that will only give them more reason to try a coup. Speaking of, have they announced what they plan to do within the coup?"
Shisui shook his head.
"No, they haven't said anything of the sort. Fugaku is still thinking about the best methods. I am attempting to try and speak him down about having a coup...but, it has limited success so far I'm afraid. But if given enough time-"
"Konoha could suffer if you're given time Shisui."
Hiruzen's eyes shot for Danzo.
"Danzo, Shisui is trying to find the path to peace, and attempting to make sure both sides are satisfied. I also am thinking along that line."
"And while you're thinking that, you heard it yourself from the boys mouths. They're getting angrier, and that will lead to danger."
"Their anger is misplaced, I do agree with that Danzo-sama." Shisui began. "But, it is understandable anger. There was a lot that happened that night, explosions going off, and fires that were set in the forest near the Uchiha Compound. It is only natural that some Uchiha felt as if Konoha didn't care to come and check it out."
Danzo's sole eye narrowed considerably for Shisui.
"Are you blaming Konoha for not taking action? When it was an Uchiha who caused that chaos in the first place?"
"No Sir, I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying that it was convenient that Yashiro took out some Konoha members that went to investigate. I'm not saying either is right, I'm just relaying what has been said, and how certain people might feel about it."
Shisui conveyed his thoughts.
But Danzo, in his ways, seemed to be rather against what Shisui had to say.
"That's not the fault of Konoha, they should redirect their anger towards their own clan for producing someone such as Yashiro. He is the one that instigated that night, and has only proven to me that Uchiha are capable of killing their own, will have no qualms about killing the innocents of Konoha."
Itachi bit his lip, holding back some words he desperately wanted to say.
He didn't agree at all with what Danzo had said.
Shisui also thought about what he should say and how he should speak…
In the end, he thought about how he was going to make a move himself, and then spoke with a calm nature, hiding his own annoyance with the village elder.
"There are people all over the world that are like Yashiro, he just happened to be a member of the Uchiha clan, Sir. All Uchiha aren't like Yashiro, he's an example that's hard for us to even think about. Uchiha aren't by definition filled with the desire to kill our own, Yashiro had his own problems that resulted in him having his mind twisted with the logic that it would be better to get rid of Ryou and Izumi-chan."
Shisui countered.
He didn't want Danzo to pin all of this on Uchiha.
While he himself didn't like Yashiro, he hated him, he also had to make sure his clan was protected.
Danzo's eye laid upon Shisui, not liking how Shisui was acting. In his virew, it felt like Shisui was betraying Konoha to side with the Uchiha and believing that they had a right to feel like they did, when Shisui wasn't saying that at all. But Danzo, twisted it in his mind so it did sound like that to someone like him.
Hiruzen exhales slowly.
"Shisui, Itachi. In your own opinions, how long would you say the Uchiha are on with their plans?"
"I'd say that they haven't progressed that far, Sir."
Itachi replied truthfully, Shisui followed up.
"Yes, due to the incident with Yashiro, taking out a trusted member of his forces, Fugaku-sans plans have been put back by a good while."
Hiruzen stroked his chin in deep thought.
"Then we have more time-"
"Time, that could make us the ones on the losing side Hiruzen. This, isn't going to work with peace. I say we take action now, and strike."
"To put people like Ryouta Uchiha-kun and Izumi Uchiha-san through more strife, Danzo?" Hiruzen countered, Danzo's eye desperately held his anger. "They have been through enough, imagine if they were to find their clan doing these deeds. Not to mention all of the other innocent members of the Uchiha clan. The civilians aren't involved in this, should they also be made to suffer?"
"What I'm saying is that we keep prolonging this, then maybe it will be for nothing. We lose if they make a move."
Hiruzen contemplated on what to do.
Shisui kept his eyes on Danzo, and saw the cold nature he had.
He truly did think that Danzo could end up trying something if left to his own devices.
Soon the meeting came to an end, Shisui wasn't thrilled with how Danzo was speaking.
He also wasn't convinced that Danzo was going to comply with Hiruzen and find a path to peace...no, he was almost sure that Danzo would reject peace with the Uchiha.
However, there was little he could do, since if an Uchiha did try anything with Danzo, then it would cause a war. Shisui wasn't going to do that, nor did he have a true reason to do anything to Danzo…
As that happened, Ryouta went towards a training area so he could get in some practice, this time he was alone due to everyone else being really busy, which he guessed made sense with everything that was going on.
Taking out a kunai, Ryouta flung it around, and used wire to control its path, trying to improve his skills.
He even had the Sharingan active, so he could increase the stamina that he had, and be able to use it for longer periods of time.
However, as he was, he caught the sight of Karin's chakra, remembering the colour from the previous times that he had seen them, so he paused.
"Karin-san, how are you?"
"Waaah!"
She practically jumped out of her skin, and pulled away.
"S-Sorry, I keep worrying you huh?"
Karin waved her hand.
"No...it's not like that, I'm fine..."
Ryouta pulled forward, getting towards her right hand side.
Peering into her eyes, he smiled towards her, while she looked awkwardly back at him.
"You know, my brother said you should come to our house sometime, so we can eat together."
Karin folded her arms awkwardly.
"I guess that I could do yeah...if I have the time or something."
Ryouta could see that Karin was still being defensive.
Even after all the time there, she still was keeping she was keeping her distance.
He wondered if it was anything to do with the bite mark he saw on her arm.
He didn't want to worry her, nor did he want to say anything that could be considered worrying.
But when he moved closer, she pulled backwards, and she almost ended up tripping over.
He moved in time to catch her in his arms, but as he did, her sleeves rolled up, and Ryouta saw the bite marks more clearly this time on her form.
Karin's face fell, almost shame coming to her young face, she jumped away from him, and yelled "Don't look!" turning her neck, and swiftly covered her arms.
"Karin-san..."
"I said don't look!"
Ryouta watched as she began walking away.
"Karin-san, it's alright, you don't have to..."
"You don't know anything, don't...don't tell anyone about these...Got it?!"
"I got it...but, Karin-san...they look...like teeth marks..."
"I don't want to talk about it! Please just...just don't say anything to anyone!"
Karin took off running.
Ryouta would have given her the space she needed, but he saw that she was heading in a direction that she shouldn't.
Even he knew that going there was dangerous.
"Wait Karin-san! Don't go there! That's the Forest of Death!"
Despite his calls, Ryouta saw that she was still running, so he took off after her.
He tried a number of times to stop her, knowing what direction she was going in, and somewhere she shouldn't be going, knowing the dangers of it from when Shisui told him.
But Karin refused to stop, she kept running away.
He would stop chasing her, if he thought that would be the best solution, but with how she currently was, if she did run into danger, at least he'd be there to make sure that she was safe.
Eventually, Ryouta managed to stop her just outside of the Forest of Death, so she didn't enter it.
"Wait, Karin-san! It's too dangerous, you can't go in there."
"Why?"
"Because, the Forest of Death, is a place people can be killed. It's only used for training in dangerous places...it has poisonous stuff in there...and even wild animals that have killed Ninja before..."
"Well...Well I..."
Karin didn't know what to say.
Ryouta on the other hand looked at her arms, and then towards her face.
"Karin-san...I wouldn't tell anyone...if you wanted me to...but, I want to...be a friend to you, Karin-san."
Karin backed off.
She never knew who she could trust.
"Yeah well...make sure you don't. It isn't anything anyway..."
"I...Karin-san, if I can do anything to help you...if there's anything you want me to do..."
"Why would you do anything for me? We don't know each other that well, we're only classmates."
"Even if we're only classmates, it doesn't mean we can't be friends. I'd like to be friends with you Karin-san."
Karin for a moment did feel touched.
But when she remembered the marks on her arms, and legs...
She felt insecure.
She was only a young girl, she felt ashamed that things like that happened to her.
Karin went to turn away, when Ryouta heard something opening, along with a crashing sound.
His eyes went to the gate, and saw that it had been opened.
"How did that..."
When he tried to make sense of it, he saw that the large locks on the ground, also saw what seemed to be the retraction of a tail...
Then they heard a strange rumbling sound.
Neither knew what it was, until they saw a pair of yellow eyes coming out of the forests interior.
Karin's face fell, and she began shaking while Ryouta saw the gate being opened, he quickly rushed to shut it, and lock it before it could get out.
"What are you doing?!"
"Shutting the gates so it can't get out!"
Ryouta replied, seeing the snakes eyes on his form.
But by the time he got there, the snakes large head came towards him, and slammed into his right hand side, sending him flying towards the grass.
Karin gasped, but the snakes deadly eyes went towards her.
Showing fangs that could rip right through her, she quaked in place, trying to make sense of what she was going to do next.
The snake then shot for her, so she screamed, and tried to run away.
But the snake was faster, and came right on top of her.
"Mom..."
Her eyes widened in horror, and she screamed once more...
Only to see that thin wire suddenly wrapped around the snakes mouth, binding the upper and lower parts closed, Karin saw that he had used some shurikens to control the direction of the wire itself.
It was Ryouta who had protected her.
"Run Karin-san!"
Karin was...astonished that someone she had been mostly dismissive towards was acting as kind as this.
She nodded, and tried to run towards him, but the snakes tail lashed out, and hit the ground before her.
The impact of the snakes tail sent her flying backwards, and her glasses fell off of her face.
"Karin-san! Are you alright!?"
Karin rubbed the top of her head, as she pulled her body upwards.
She could see her vision was blurred.
She sensed Ryouta's chakra out, feeling it close by, so she shot forward towards it, disregarding her glasses.
However, the moment she made it close to him, what seemed to be a long tail, wrapped around Karin, and dragged her into the forest.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah! Help!"
"Karin-san!"
Ryouta gave chase...
But the snake got in the way, so Ryouta took out a kunai, and charged forward.
Using his Sharingan, Ryouta dodged the snake trying to bite into his body, and jumped high, before bringing down his kunai right through the head of the snake.
Stabbing deep, Ryouta pulled it out, and then went through some hand signs, before announcing "Fire Release, Great Fireball Jutsu!" and shot off the flames into the wound, causing it to spread through the snake, and cooked it from the inside out, killing it within a few moments.
"Sorry big snake..."
Ryouta apologized, and jumped off the snake, grabbed Karin's glasses, and though he didn't want to go into the Forest of Death, he didn't have a choice since no one else was around, he didn't have time to even look for anyone as Karin could be getting hurt, or even worse at that very moment, and he needed to go and help her.
Minutes after Ryouta ran into the Forest of Death, a young girl with purple hair and a wicked look to her eyes, eventually came by, coming out from the Forest itself, and saw that the forest gates were open, and the locks had fallen to the floor.
She also saw the dead snake from the forest outside of the forest.
Seeing it having been cooked, she could tell by how the snake had died.
It had clearly been in a fire recently, and she guessed it was someone with Fire Release since she didn't see any other fires.
She looked towards the forest, and furrowed her brows.
"Shit...I thought those locks were secure enough...and that snake...has someone gone into the forest...? Damn, I need to find them, now..."
The woman sighed, and shot into the forest herself.
Ryouta ran through the forest, and looked for Karin.
The trees were thick, big, and there were many of them.
He saw many different types of plants, and he could tell some looked poisonous.
"Karin-san..."
He used his Sharingan, and tracked her by her chakra, the parts he could see.
Whatever was dragging her, was rather fast, and could keep her tightly secured.
So he pushed himself further, moving his little legs as fast as they could go.
Even adding chakra to his legs for a burst of speed.
The snake moved in a zigzagging manner.
It moved erratically almost.
Ryouta had to move with it, dancing through the trees that came to block his path.
He had to admit that the snake was moving really fast, and he hoped that he'd be able to catch up to it.
It allowed him to eventually catch up with Karin who was trying to fight off the tail but it had wrapped tightly around her so he ran forward, and tossed a kunai at the tail, stabbing into it, managing to avoid hitting Karin thanks to his Sharingan assisting, the pain of the stabbing forced the snake to drop Karin out of its grasp, and she skidded across the floor.
"Ow..."
"It's alright Karin-san, I'll protect you!"
Karin, hearing his voice, began to feel at ease.
Even in danger...she just felt like she could trust the voice he had.
Ryouta then saw the snake was retaliating against the stabbing, and came down with its tail towards the young girl, so Ryouta got in the way, and used his kunai to pierce the snakes tail, but hit Ryouta in his face, drawing some blood out of his face, and he winced, but he used his kunai to wrestle with the snake.
Karin's eyes went towards Ryouta.
She couldn't see him that well, due to her glasses being knocked off her face outside the forest.
But she did see the colour red dropping down onto the ground.
She knew, it was his blood.
"He's bleeding...he came in here...to protect me...to save me...but why? I've been...acting cold...yet he came to save me...his chakra, it's so warm...dazzling, bright...but, it's more than that...it's beautiful...the chakra is astounding to me..."
Karin's thoughts were stopped when she heard Ryouta say "Get lost!" and dug his kunai through the tail of the snake, splitting it open, and forced it backwards.
He then weaved through some hand signs, and announced "Fire Release, Great Fireball Jutsu!" and concentrated his chakra, shooting out a decent sized flaming sphere that headed right for the snake.
The snake took the flaming sphere right on, but the force of the actual fireball was too much for the snake, and it forced the snake backwards, burns erupted over the snakes body.
Ryouta panted lightly due to putting in a good deal of chakra to make the ball strong and big enough to do some lasting damage.
Ryouta then saw the snake coming back towards him in a strong burst, so he charged forward.
The snake tried to bring its split tail towards Ryouta to crush him, but he used his Sharingan to help him move out of the way, and keep going towards said snake.
When then snakes head came for Ryouta, it tried to bite him, but Ryouta took his kunai, and slashed forward, cutting through the fang of it, which dropped to the floor, the snake pulled back in pain.
"There!"
This time, when it tried to come towards him, Ryouta jumped upwards, avoiding a straight head on collision, getting onto the snakes back, and stabbed downwards, the snakes eyes shot open, as Ryouta dashed forward, using his kunai to slice right through the body of the snake, drawing more and more of its blood out, until it eventually died due to the wounds it suffered.
Ryouta exhaled, feeling the blood running down his face.
But then remembered Karin, so he walked over towards her.
"Here Karin-san, your glasses."
Karin reached out, so Ryouta placed the glasses in her hands, so she brought it to her face.
Ryouta smiled as her vision returned to her.
She looked at his bleeding face, seeing that it was a nasty gash across his face.
"You're hurt...because of me..."
"No, I'm alright. I'll get it healed when we get out of here."
He replied, offering her his hand.
She looked at the hand, before she accepted it, pulling herself up.
"Are you alright Karin-san? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Karin overlooked Ryouta's features.
Despite the fact that he was hurt, he was more concerned for her.
She felt rather touched by that.
"I-I'm fine...yeah, I'm fine. But...this place, is really dangerous...huh..."
"Right, we should get out of here...but, with all the zigzagging we did, I don't know where to go now...my Sharingan wont see all the way back to the village..."
"Well, maybe it wont...but, I'll be able to sense the chakra from here...if I concentrate."
"Sense...so, you are a sensory type then?"
"Right...I'll get us out of here."
Karin placed her hands into a hand sign, and she began concentrating.
Focusing all of her thoughts on sensing chakra, she tried to focus more and more...
But her mind kept drawing back to Ryouta, and his injury, what happened to him for her.
She shook her head, and focused even more...
After a solid minute or so, she exhaled.
"Okay, follow me."
"Right, lead the way."
With that, Ryouta followed Karin towards the exit of the Forest of Death, hoping nothing else would attack them.
Minutes went by, and they stayed in relative silence.
Karin glanced back on occasion, and saw that he was wiping the blood away from his eye, seeing the cut on the right hand side of his face, above his eye.
"It...It looks pretty harsh...that cut."
Karin spoke, trying to keep her eyes off of him.
"Ehe, it seems so. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"W-Who said I was worried?!"
Ryouta gave her a curious stare, before chortling.
"I'm glad you're okay."
"Y-Yes well...you were...you saved me, of course I'm okay!"
Ryouta moved closer, getting to her right hand side.
"Karin-san, why did you run off? Because those bite marks..."
"They're...ugly, aren't they?"
She practically spat those words out.
Ryouta furrowed his brows.
"Ugly?"
"These marks on my skin...they're ugly...I hate them..."
"No, I don't think that."
He replied truthfully, catching Karin off guard.
"Are you wondering where I got them?"
She asked, Ryouta didn't deny that he was wondering.
"I am, but if you don't want to tell me, then that would be your choice. But...even with them, it doesn't matter, does it?"
Karin paused.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, that they aren't something that has to...erm...the word is...erm...define you. They don't have to be what defines you."
Karin looked down at her arms, and her legs.
She remembered how her Mother died, and she recalled what happened afterwards.
"...I got them, after my Mom died."
"I...I'm sorry..."
Ryouta wasn't sure what to say, and could only wait for her to continue on.
"She died...because of bites like this...they killed her."
"They?"
Karin tried to control her sadness.
But in the end, she couldn't and she ended up shedding a few tears, something that Ryouta wished he could stop, he didn't want her to feel worry, sadness, or anything akin to that.
"The people...that took us in, she was...bitten, and her chakra...was absorbed...you see, my Mom and I...we can heal peoples wounds if people bite, and...basically, eat our chakra."
"So...the bites..."
Ryouta worked it out, seeing where she was going with this now, he believed.
Karin exhaled sadly.
"Yes...my Mom died because of them...they did it too much, and she ended up dying. I...I was then made to replace her...but I didn't want to...I was scared...and I ran away... I ran, they chased me...but Tsunade-sama saved me, and helped me. Though she was rather rude...she helped me come here...and she also is giving me some special cream...that will hopefully help get rid of these bite marks on my skin, and so far it seems some are going away...Shizune-san also helped me a lot too...I'm grateful to them both..."
Listening to her story, Ryouta could understand her feelings now, how she would be worried about that.
How she would have ran away from that dangerous life.
He was also glad that despite Tsunade not wanting to be in the village anymore, she had enough faith that they'd be able to at least make sure that Karin would get a good life now that her Mother was gone.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you...no one should have taken advantage of you..."
"Yeah..."
"You'll...be safe here now, no one will take advantage of you again Karin-san. I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen."
Karin felt a pulse from her heart.
She looked bewildered.
But deep inside, she felt happy.
Trying to hide her feelings, she pushed her glasses up her face, and huffed.
"T-Then, lets go!"
"Right~"
With that, the pair continued onwards, Ryouta felt as if they had grown closer than before.
He was glad that he could become closer to the young girl.
Karin also felt her cheeks turning red.
How he saved her.
How he comforted her.
How he was there for her when everything happened...
As they continued, they heard a noise behind them.
Turning, it seemed like a giant centipede happened to come towards them.
Karin gasped, but Ryouta got in front of her, and said "Don't worry, I'll protect you." causing her cheeks to turn red.
Ryouta went to fight...
When the purple haired girl came down, and delivered a strong punch to the top of the centipede's head, smashing it deep into the ground.
Ryouta and Karin blinked rapidly, as the young woman flipped, and landed on the ground, twirling a kunai.
"So, it's two kids that broke into the Forest of Death huh? Gotta say, you've got guts."
Ryouta shook his head.
"We didn't...break in, the gates were unlocked, the locks fell off...and a snake came after us...and then another snake dragged Karin-san inside..."
The girl shot forward, grabbing Ryouta's shirt, and pulled him closer.
Ryouta watched as the girl gently patted his face, peering into his eyes, but remained with her scary expression.
"So, that's how it was, was it boy?"
"Yes...that's right."
The girl leaned closer and closer, showing a darkened expression.
Ryouta and Karin grimaced, not sure what she was going to do...
But then she pulled back, and winked.
"Alright then, time to get out of here."
Ryouta and Karin looked at one another.
They cocked their heads curiously.
"Come on kids, we've got to go!"
"A-Ah, alright...ooh, my name is Ryouta, and this is Karin..."
"Yeah, yeah. The names Anko, Ryouta-kun~"
She said in a mixture of seriousness, and some teasing.
Ryouta blinked curiously, while Anko giggled to herself, thinking "So fun to see the confusion like that~" as she walked off.
Ryouta and Karin followed after her, not sure what to make of her.
Sometime later, Ryouta was being embraced by Shisui who held him close and made sure that he was okay, while Karin stood off to the side, with Anko scratching the back of her head sheepishly, she couldn't even look at the Hokage, she felt ashamed of what happened, a contrast to how Ryouta had seen her before.
They explained what happened, how they fought the snakes, how they were able to get through the forest together.
Hiruzen drunk in the information, and was quite impressed.
"So, that's what happened."
Hiruzen began, Anko chortled awkwardly.
"It's kinda my fault, I thought the locks were secure, I was just taking care of some mess inside..."
"No, it's also my fault." Karin added. "I...I ran there, and I dragged Ryouta-san into it as well...if I didn't do that...we wouldn't have been there...and got into that mess..."
"Karin-san, you didn't know about it, it isn't your fault..."
Ryouta comforted, Karin felt grateful.
Hiruzen stroked his old chin in thought.
"I see...it just seems to be some accident that happened. Don't worry Anko, I don't blame you for this."
Anko exhaled slowly.
"Well that's a relief."
"Yes, well...I have to say, the fact that you both managed to stay alive in the Forest of Death. It's usually a testing ground for Genin to Chunin, and you both are in the Academy still. It's amazing to see."
"I'd have to agree Ryou. First it's Yashiro, now it's the Forest of Death. I can't remember doing these awesome things when I was your age, not even Itachi could do it when he was your age either. The snakes there can be deadly, but you took them down huh? Haha, my little brother Ryou~"
Anko furrowed her brows.
"I thought I heard the name Ryouta before! So, you're the kid who survived a Jonin battle at only six years old?"
Ryouta turned, and nodded at Anko, astonishing Karin who didn't know Ryouta had done that.
"Yes, Anko-san."
"Heh, how cute." Ryouta cocked his head, as Anko gave a smirk. "I'll have to keep my eye on you...yeah, I'll definitely keep my eye on you, boy."
Ryouta saw her lightly moistening her lips, then he looked to Karin.
"If it wasn't for Karin-san though, I would've been trapped there for ages."
Karin blushed lightly, Shisui patted both of their heads.
"Quite the team then, aren't you?"
Ryouta and Karin glanced at the other, while Anko mused about what Shisui said.
"Indeed, it seems they are quite the team. Though next time, maybe it would be best to stay away from the Forest of Death."
Hiruzen playfully scolded, Ryouta and Karin nodded in agreement.
""Yes sir.""
"Then, you may leave. You have your little mission with Shisui coming up, don't you Ryouta-kun?"
"Yes Hokage-sama, I shall not let you down."
"I'm sure you wont. Then, dismissed. I'm glad you both are perfectly well."
Ryouta and Karin nodded, so Shisui began pulling Ryouta to the doorway.
"Come on little brother, lets go~"
Ryouta waved and disappeared together with Karin, and Shisui.
Anko overlooked the fleeting trio, before smirking and jumping out of the window, leaving Hiruzen alone.
At the same time, Danzo, having been aware of what was going on with Ryouta, and Shisui, had now called forward Sugaru once more, since he had a mission for him.
Within a darkened area, a lone light illuminated Danzo, while Sugaru stayed within the shadows, his expression, like the rest of Root members, unreadable.
"If Shisui was to die on this mission, then his eyes could be obtained without anyone being aware of it."
"Sir, if I was to go with him, then it would be highly suspicious."
Danzo raised an eyebrow.
For a moment, he thought he heard a sense of...emotion, and he wasn't sure what that was from.
"Even then, this is a perfect chance. It's time for us to gain the advantage. I've seen the mission they're going on. If I recall correctly, there might be some Ninja nearby that have bloodlust."
From the way he spoke, Danzo had already prepared this far ahead.
All to gain Shisui's eyes.
"Have you sent people before Danzo-sama?"
Sugaru asked, knowing of the answer already but wished to make sure.
"Correct. I sent some to see if there could be any opportunity to gain his Sharingan. So, make sure that these people attack Shisui and Ryouta Uchiha. Even if they don't win, he might be weakened enough for you to infect him with your special insects. Make sure to retrieve his eyes for me, I'm counting on you Sugaru."
Sugaru nodded without emotion.
He didn't say anything…
But he recalled what Shisui had done for him, and how he had acted with him…
Sugaru wasn't sure on how he was supposed to feel…
No rather, he wasn't supposed to feel.
He was Root, he was supposed to be emotionless.
So when he thought of Shisui, he wasn't sure why he felt a flicker of emotion sparking within him, it defied logic, and hoped that it was just something that would go away in time.
Days passed, and eventually, the time for the mission Ryouta and Shisui were going on had come up.
Now, off from the Academy for a week or so, the day before Ryouta and Shisui were going on their mission, with the time turning to dinner time with the night sky coming about, they found themselves at Ichiraku's ramen shop, with Ryouta sat beside Naruko, with Shisui off to the side, watching them speak together, and having a generally good time.
"Seriously, you get to go on a mission?! Can I come?! I'll show off my awesome Ninja skills!"
"Hehe, I'm not sure if it would be allowed. Even this mission had to be approved over a long time, being in the Academy and all, Hokage-sama was a bit worried. Maybe next time Naruko-san."
She looked a bit down about that.
"Aah...well, I guess..."
"But, I'll bring you something back, if you'd like?"
Ryouta added, trying to brighten her up, which worked within seconds.
"S-Sure! Thanks!"
Ryouta shook his head.
"It's the least I can do. Though I will miss you Naruko-san."
Naruko's cheeks turned slightly red, and chortled lightly.
"Y-Yeah...w-well, I will too...so hurry back okay?!"
"Yup, I'll try my best. I also heard that Hinata-san wishes to play with you."
"Hehehehe, Hinata and I are quite good friends~ I really like her, even if she is a bit weird sometimes~"
"She's just shy, but she's a really nice person."
"She is~"
"Also, would you be nice to Karin-san for me? She's still settling in...and could need some friends."
"Karin...ehe, yeah sure! I don't mind her!"
Naruko smiled out as the pair ate together.
Ayame, a girl with brown hair, who happened to the daughter of the man who owned the ramen shop, overlooked the pair, and cooed to Shisui.
"Aren't they so adorable Shisui-kun?"
Shisui smiled strongly.
"Yeah, I think they really are quite cute together~"
"It's also nice that Naruko-chan has a friend her own age. I was getting worried about her."
"Yeah...well, it's nice that they're able to get on so well."
Ayame gave a light hearted smile towards Shisui.
"Yeah, though I've also seen that girl Satsuki-chan, it seems that she also likes your brother."
"It's all sweet at their age, you know?"
"It is yeah, it's a real fun time to be friends. No need to worry about the important stuff." Ayame turned her neck towards the kids briefly, before looking back at Shisui. "Speaking of, since it's your big important mission tomorrow. This ones on the house."
"You sure? I don't mind paying."
Ayame waved her hand.
"It's fine, besides you guys are loyal customers. It's the least we can do sometimes. Also, you guys are nice to Naruko-chan, and anyone that's nice to her, is a good person in my books~"
"You seem to really care for her."
Shisui observed, Ayame didn't deny it.
"Yes...I think that she gets enough hard time everywhere else, this place should be a safe place for her. You know what I mean? Everyone should have that one place where you can just eat, and relax, have a good time, just be themselves without having to worry about the outside world."
"I think the same. That's why this place is my favourite~"
As Shisui said it, Ryouta walked closer, having heard what was being said and cocked an eyebrow up.
"I thought it was because Ayame-san worked here?"
Ayame blinked rapidly, while Shisui's face turned slightly red.
"H-Hush you!"
"So, what's this about Shisui-kun?"
Ayame smiled out, Shisui blinked rapidly.
"Eh...I don't know what he's talking about. Little brothers, speaking nonsense."
Shisui shot a look to Ryouta who tilted his head.
Just then Izumi came walking in together with Lee by her side, grinning.
"I thought I heard your voice Shisui-kun."
Shisui looked awkwardly towards her.
"I-Izumi-chan, how are you doing?"
"Just fine. Since Itachi-kun's out on a mission, I came here with Lee-kun. But I heard you speaking with Ayame-chan. It's really sweet considering that you-"
Shisui covered her mouth with his hand.
She looked bewildered while Ayame thought it was rather cute.
As they spoke, Ryouta turned to Lee.
"Lee-san! How come you're with Izumi-chan?"
Lee's face turned bright red as Izumi petted his head.
"I-Izumi-san said that she'd treat me to ramen for training so hard!"
"Ooh, still trying to overcome Itachi-san then?"
"Yes! That's exactly right rival!"
Naruko heard the word 'rival' and wondered if she had one.
She didn't consider Ryouta a rival, it would be weird to her.
She thought about Hinata, and she really liked Hinata, but it wouldn't be Hinata.
Ino and Sakura weren't really rivals either.
Not even Karin could be considered her rival really.
But when she thought of Satsuki...she could feel her blood boiling, and wondered if Satsuki was her rival.
Izumi then peeled Shisui's hand off of her face.
"Anyway, lets eat everyone! I don't know about you all but I'm hungry!"
"Aah, you're right Izumi-san, we should eat!"
Lee added, with Ayame giggling.
"More customers~ Dad, we've got more customers!"
"Right, I'm coming!"
Ayame disappeared to go help her Father.
Izumi gave a sly smile to Shisui as Ryouta, Naruko and Lee sat together, speaking casually.
"So, ready for your mission tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I'm ready."
"Gonna miss Ayame-chan?"
Shisui puffed out his cheeks, something Izumi found to be quite cute.
"Izumi-chan, don't say that now."
"Hehe, I'm sorry. I just like the idea of you finding love Shisui-kun. Remember, you might be Ryou-kun's guardian, but it's also nice for you to have love yourself."
"Yeah...I know. I'll think about it. She might not even like me."
"What's not to like? You're handsome, kind, cheeky, sweet, and you have other great qualities. Just give it a chance, Shisui-kun, you never know what might happen."
Shisui knew she was trying to be kind, so he had to thank her for that.
With that, they had a good time with one another, enjoying the others company for the time being.
Meanwhile, within the Ninja Village of Kirigakure, three figures stood together. One was a man who was tall and thin, wearing a creepy looking mask, by the name of Kushimaru, another was a man with a beard who held a weird looking sword in his hand named Jinpachi, and finally another man who had white hair, and held a more composed expression on his face than the other two, his name being Mangetsu.
"Tch, so we're going to hunt down Zabuza, are we?"
Kushimaru laughed, Jinpachi smirked.
"Never thought I'd be clashing blades with him anytime soon. But my blade does want to explode him out of existence. Then, you can get that sword for yourself, right Mangetsu?"
Mangetsu nodded, holding back a smile.
Rather than it being a scary one, it was more of one that was genuinely happy to see someone like Zabuza up close.
"Right, I wouldn't mind seeing the so-called Demon in action. Though I thought that this was a mission to just locate him?"
He was being aloof about it.
But he was genuinely happy about it.
"Tch, well it might be just to locate, but if we can take him out, then we'll be the envy of many."
Jinpachi said with a gleeful expression on his face.
Mangetsu furrowed his brows, not sure what to think about deviating from their true mission.
"Hahahahaha! Now this is going to be thrilling! I can't believe we get to slay Zabuza! Too bad Ameyuri-chan's gonna miss it~ I'd impress her with my swordsmanship!"
Kushimaru laughed loudly.
"Heh, I heard she rejected your pathetic self again!"
Jinpachi laughed, drawing a dark look from Kushimaru.
"Shut the hell up! You know nothing!"
As Kushimaru yelled, a younger version of Mangetsu came running up.
"Big brother! I heard you're going to see Zabuza!?"
"Right, we've got a mission to track him down, he's been spotted so we're to see if he's there then we'll go from there."
Mangetsu replied without much care.
"Let me come! Please! I want to see if he can kill many people!"
"No, you can't come."
"Come on..."
"I said no Suigetsu."
Suigetsu puffed out his cheeks, and let out a breath.
"You're not fun at all, I wanted to see the Demon in action!"
Kushimaru snickered.
"Let the brat come, let him see our power in action."
Mangetsu sighed.
"Honestly Suigetsu...fine, but don't get in the way."
"As if I would."
Mangetsu shook his head, and went to leave with the others, as another member of the Seven Ninja Swordsman came running up.
But Jinpachi sighed.
"Not this one..."
"Come now, he might entertain us with his death~"
Kushimaru snickered out, clearly uncaring.
The man got close, and held up his unique looking weapon, an axe and hammer connected by a leather cord.
"I'm ready! Today's the day I'm going to slay someone!"
"Good luck with that."
Jinpachi yawned out, as they prepared to go and get Zabuza, their eyes clearly showing their bloodlust.
Now was the time, for Ryouta to finally go on his first mission. With the sun shining in the sky, Ryouta was sure that this was going to be an amazing mission.
Even though it had been a good number of months since the attack from Yashiro, Ryouta was glad that he managed to finally get to participate on a mission.
Though technically it wasn't anything major, it was more of a mission that was simply going to be a delivery mission to a town that was quite off from the Ninja villages.
Though he didn't care.
He couldn't wait to spend time outside with his brother.
Alone time.
Doing an actual mission.
Ryouta currently was circulating Shisui, as he stood off to the right hand side.
A kunai out, his eyes having revealed the Sharingan.
Shisui chortled, he found it rather adorable that Ryouta was so focused on what was going on.
"Then it seems that you're ready Ryou?"
Shisui chortled.
Seeing how he was acting, he couldn't help the smile that was slowly growing on his face.
"Yup, I'm ready Shi-chan. I've got everything packed in my scrolls. Got some Ninja tools, got some explosive tags, and got my Jutsu at the ready. I've even got my Sharingan on in case we're going to be ambushed."
Shisui laughed at the sight before him.
"Hahaha~ Don't worry, it isn't like that at all. This is just a simple delivery mission. We might see some bandits though, so be on the lookout. Maybe you might have to fight them if they take me down~ I might need you to save me~"
Ryouta laughed.
He was glad that it was Shisui he was going with.
"Aah, I'll try my hardest Shi-chan! I'll stand beside you and protect you!"
Shisui, though believed that this was just going to be a normal thing that was going to happen, had to admit that it was nice that he could go on a mission with his brother, it being one of the dreams he had, were they'd be able to be together, and have fun together.
"Heh, right. I'll see what you're truly capable of! But you don't have to keep your Sharingan on for a little while yet. This is going to be a peaceful mission, so I doubt that we'll run into anything that could be considered dangerous."
Ryouta tilted his head, and then nodded slowly.
"I understand Shi-chan, still I am going to be prepared. If anything, what happened all those months ago has taught me is that I can't ever be too prepared."
Shisui gave a strong nod.
"You're ready, don't worry. Besides, I'll be right beside you, I'll make sure you're safe."
"Me too Shi-chan. Don't worry, I've been training really hard Shi-chan, so I'll be able to fight better than ever!"
Shisui walked over to the young boy, and placed his hand on the top of his head, gently petting.
"Then lets go, it's a good few days journey from here. Since it's out of the way of the major Ninja villages, I doubt anything is going to happen, but always be alert, alright?"
"Right!"
Ryouta raised his fist into the air, and moved forward.
They walked towards the gates of Konoha, and now was the time for them to do the mission.
As they walked off together, Tobi watched from a far distance, undetectable from others.
His eye settled about the two Uchiha.
Smirking under his mask, he thought "Just wait for the surprise I've got for you boys." then disappeared within a few seconds.
Sugaru, with some conflicting emotions inside of him, did the mission that Danzo had told him to do. Using the transformation Jutsu, along with using one of Root's special members, they mimicked Shisui, and Ryouta perfectly.
Their eyes were cast upon a good sized forest, and they had locked down their targets.
It was two people.
One was a man that held a large sword with greyish hue to his skin, dark eyes and dark hair, he gave off an aura that resembled a Demon, a Demon that would collapse anyone that would dare to come across them.
The other was a young girl with a less scary aura, but equally dangerous looking eyes, her age seemed to be around Ryouta's own. Her hair was black and went past her shoulders, her eyes despite being childlike, held an inner conflict about many things, one being the very nature of what was around her at that moment, death and decay, something that she really didn't like.
Sugaru's insects moved forward, and reported to him, being an Aburame, he was able to interact with them and gave him the information that he required, before turning towards his friend and reported to them what was going on.
"Zabuza Momochi, and I don't know the kids name with him. They're seemingly stopped for the moment."
Sugaru spoke up, as he used the Transformation Jutsu, allowing his appearance to be exactly like Shisui.
Then the man before him turned into a replica of Ryouta, and then used some unique Jutsu to change their chakra to appear similar to Ryouta and Shisui's, so it would be undeniable about who was attacking them.
"Then our mission is clear from Danzo-sama. This isn't a kill mission, this is a mission to make them be our pawns. Lets make them resent Shisui and Ryouta. Then, when they come through, then they'll be attacked. And if it works out right, then Shisui will be..." He paused, catching the attention of his comrade. "...weakened, and perhaps might be able to be stopped long enough for us to gain his Sharingan eyes."
"Yes, I understand."
With that understood, the pair made their moves, and to make Shisui and Ryouta, targets.
All, for Danzo's sake.
End chapter!
So, a few things happened this chapter, with Shisui and Sugaru becoming closer friends, Sugaru having conflicting feelings now due to the fact that Shisui did save his life, and comes off as a nice guy, and doesn't have any malicious intent. Ryouta's honing his skills more, learning a few new ones and now, he's going to need those skills, with his elder brother and him now in danger of being attacked by not only Zabuza and Haku, thanks to Danzo, but who else Tobi's got in store for them.
It seems that Ryouta and Karin began their bonding together, while learning more about her circumstances, why she ended up in the care of Tsunade briefly, and what happened with her. Also her worries over the bite marks on her, and how they made her feel, but with some reassurance from Ryouta, she was able to begin feeling a bit better about them.
Also, some members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen have appeared, including Kushimaru, Jinpachi, Mangetsu, even Suigetsu who isn't an official member, even Ameyuri was mentioned by Kushimaru, and they've been sent after Zabuza but also disobeying their direct order to not engage him in combat. What that will lead to, and how they'll affect the story, we'll soon see~
Zabuza and Haku are also going to be going after Shisui and Ryouta thanks to the reluctance of Sugaru who has to do Danzo's bidding.
Finally, it seems that the ones that won were the Reflecting and Erasing Mangekyou abilities! I've also got some cool suggestions for names, I haven't fully decided yet which best would suit, but I will do soon so thanks to everyone who voted!
Well, until next time, thanks for reading!
Ryouta; Satsuki, Sakura, Naruko, Hinata, Ino, Haku (fem), Kurotsuchi, Karin, Konan,