… Ok, that came out a bit on the harsh side.
Regardless, something within me resonates with the statement, so I accept it. Strength isn't a bad thing to have, especially in a world like this one. Even if I turn out to be uninterested in going crazy as a god amongst men, there are probably at least a couple dozen people who would run a train on me to get a hand on my eyes if I wasn't a monster in my own right.
Yeah, not gonna let that happen.
I briefly toy with the idea of bringing firearms into the equation, before tossing it away. Frankly speaking, who was to say ninja weren't faster than a bullet? My only frame of reference had been Itachi, and while he did put on quite a showing, it was during a massacre of innocent civilians, and little kids that didn't deserve it, the fear in their eyes practically manifesting themselves in a physical form as they stare into my eyes -
I shake my head in an attempt to clear my mind, and when that fails I try to concentrate on different thoughts regardless of the memories running through my mind.
I really need to put together a proper training plan, if memory serves correctly there was a rather large library
blood blood so much blood
near the center of the compound with what amounted to the entire clans collective knowledge on anything shinobi. There had to be some sort of material there for me to work with, maybe something on how to train a good little child soldier
Small kid, probably 12, reading on fireball jutsu. A misstep alerts him to my presence, a sloppy mistake on my part, but the night is dragging on and my mind is slowly getting worn down. His eyes flick over to me, a look of reverence in them before it instantly turns to shock as he sees the glint of light from his candle reflecting off my kunai. He dies with that surprised look on his face, cross eyed as he's staring at the kunai now embedded -
I scream in frustration until a medic nin comes into my room and forcibly subdues me, eyesight red and eyes burning all the while.
My nightmares are haunted by more scenes from the massacre.
This is horrendous.
Fuck you Itachi.
After mutely nodding along to the hospital doctor's bastardized Japanese for what feels like hours, I finally get released from the hospital with a ninja food stamp and keys to an apartment building… somewhere.
Instead of bothering with any of that business I head towards where I remember the Uchiha compound being. I had no idea where it was prior to the whole tsukuyomi business, but thankfully in that light post shot Itachi actually caught a solid chunk of the village in his field of view, and by constantly cross referencing that mental image with my surroundings I eventually find myself in front of the Uchiha clan compound.
The clan compound being so empty feels eerie. Both in the sense that it's in heavy contrast to the busy streets of Konoha, and because there is a distinct lack of dead bodies littering the streets. The wide doors of the Uchiha Library greet me with a similar vibe, and it really feels wrong that I'm likely going to be one of, if not the last Uchiha ever to see this place.
Actually, Danzo has eyes doesn't he? Do memories stay stored inside the brain? Maybe the eyes? Fuck this is Naruto, why can't it be dank and in the soul of the Uchiha?
Whatever. No sense in worrying about that. Not like I can do much about ROOT anyways.
Waving off the terror that comes with that train of thought, I enter the library. There is a front foyer area with a couple couches and a help desk, but its purpose as something purely there for the sake of aesthetics is very apparent. The only hallway is one that leads further into the library. It's a wide hallway that angles slightly downwards, and is lined with portraits of famous Uchiha from one year or another.
Aside from the very real and concrete feeling of walking down into a central building in the compound, I have to assume that the wall served as a way to block the library from the prying eyes of the village, and especially the Hyuuga's byakugan. I sincerely doubted that they'd be able to see inside, even if they scaled to the top of the Hokage monument.
Finally, after a quite lengthy walk, the hallway suddenly opens up to reveal a seemingly massive central atrium, where a pristine looking formation of rocks allows water to flow downward in a couple mini waterfalls. Surrounding it are trees and assorted greenery, and above it all is an open roof, allowing fresh air and sunlight to stream in.
The trees look a little duller than how my eyes remember them, their luster slightly diminished and their leaves drooping lower than normal, but in broad strokes it's just as I remember it.
My gaze is drawn to the open roof, not quite believing that the Uchiha compound would have an open roof, until I realize there's a seal matrix under the open space, causing a slight rippling effect to appear in the gap.
I dip my hand inside the water and find it to be especially clear, without even a hit of algae on the surface. The fact that the water is still moving around as it should is either a testament to Uchiha engineering, or perhaps is a product of continuous maintenance.
Standing back up, I turn to my left, content to survey the library with my own two eyes. Itachi's visions were calm but also tinged with a frantic panic, and when faced with such a relaxing place all I want to do is take it slow.
Surrounding the centerpiece of the library is a ring of wooden walkways, surrounded by three wings. There's a distinct lack of walls between these wings and the central area, leading the building to feel a lot larger than it actually is.
Taking a left, I find what's obviously the "library" portion of the library. Rows and rows of shelves are there, holding the gambit from bound leather books to weathered scrolls. From opening a fair number of scrolls and staring at the pictures, I can put together that the sections are split into four primary ones - Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Weaponry, and a fifth miscellaneous section.
There's quite obviously some sort of sorting system that's present, but honestly I can't be assed to figure it out while I can't read anything. Fuck you Itachi, can't Sharingan me some instructions on how to read?
Shit, I'm a six year old aren't I? Obviously I can't read for shit. On the brightside, I can learn how to read and write without looking like an absolute loon. Although that also implies that I have to go to the academy… I decide to worry about all that business at a later date, and continue my tour of the library.
The side of this section closest to the atrium is reserved for a series of chairs and desks facing towards the greenery in the center. At the back of the library section is a staircase that leads down to multiple sealed meeting rooms, as well as a few open areas fitted with chairs and tables clearly meant for group discussions.
Honestly, calling this building the Uchiha library is kinda disingenuous, given how large the building is. Calling it the Uchiha complex would be more accurate… and thus is going to be how I'm going to refer to it now. The library part of the Uchiha complex can stay as the "Uchiha Library" though.
Climbing back up the stairway, I move to the next destination on my tour. This one is quite apparently the physical training area of the building. There's a wide training field smack dab in the center of the thing, and is quite frankly the only notable feature in the area.
Finally, nestled away in the right most section of the library, I find what is obviously the children's area. Its greatest feature is what I can only describe as a shinobi playground. It's not colourful, and it's quite obviously designed to help develop core and upper body strength in young children while they play, but it's a comforting little worn out thing.
I'm a little surprised that the Uchiha clan of all people adopted something so modern, but I suppose all bets are off when you're trying to create ninja.
Walking over to the training field, I close my eyes and pick out a sequence from the tsukuyomi. Looking for the memory that I want is an effortless process - I remember the whole thing inside and out in horrific, graphic detail.
I force down my revulsion as I experience in perfect clarity killing the nice baker who lived down the street, and focus on how Itachi's body feels as he throws the kunai. I find a few training kunai, and decide to let go and simply feel.
Itachi's body is different from my own. Big shocker, I know, but trying to superimpose his body onto my own to copy him is proving to be a real struggle.
I eventually make the leap in logic that training mirrors would probably help, and thus steal a couple from the bathroom and prop them against the training room walls. Turning on my sharingan is probably the only thing I copied from Itachi that feels even remotely right - a mental command for blood red eyes and my physiology handles the rest. By reconciling what I see in my mental memories with how Itachi felt and how I look in the mirror, progress is slow but steady.
Thirty minutes later I still can't throw for shit, but at least I'm hitting the target now.
It's as I'm sitting in the shower, running through the massacre a millionth time that I realize something exceedingly funny - Itachi took great care to use every basic academy jutsu, every ninja tool I know and many more I don't recognize in the massacre, and then he strung them together in different ways.
That fat bastard. Whether consciously or not he fucking put together a ninja demo as he slaughtered the Uchiha.
For the first time in recent memory, I grin. The grin turns into a chuckle, and then into manic laughter. I can't stop myself. It's all - it's just too funny. I laugh through the rest of the shower, while I dry myself off, and right up to when I crash on a random futon and my ANBU buddy knocks me out with a genjutsu.
Yeah, Itachi used that exact one dipshit.
A/N Better late than never, no?
