Chapter Thirty-Six: A Man Called Kisame
Canon-Manga Info: Kurama stated that Sasuke's chakra is extremely potent, more potent than the other Uchiha (which is also true for Madara, since both of them are Indra's champions), who're genetically pre-dispositioned to develop potent chakra, which is why they awaken the Sharingan. It's been mentioned and implied quite a few times in the manga. In fact, according to Canon Manga and Data-book, Uchiha are the only clan to possess extremely potent and large chakra reserves: "Exceptional" is the word the Viz Translation uses. No other clan has been stated or implied to have potent chakra or large chakra reserves: Hashirama and Nagato are outliers in their clans, not the norm.
Remember, Hagoromo (Sage of the Six Paths) stated that Indra, and in turn the Uchiha, inherited his potent chakra (which is very intimately linked to his Dōjutsu), not Ashura (Senju and Uzumaki clan's forefather), from which the Uzumaki clan branches out; and if we are to go further back (and use a bit of common sense), then Kaguya inherited the God Tree's, Shinju's, chakra and powers; and what made the Tree so special was its Flower; and you know what was inside the flower? The "Original Sharingan" that's the manifestation of its powers that allowed Kaguya to rule the world through "Illusions". The Sharingan, which resides only with the Uchiha, is a direct inheritance from the Shinju; so, technically, Uchiha are the direct descendants of the Shinju; and Shinju's chakra and Shinju's Dōjutsu, which later became the Uchiha Dōjutsu, are intimately linked (which is just as true for Kaguya, which is just as true for Hagoromo, which is just as true for Indra); and if they're intricately linked together, then it's just as true for the Uchiha, as well.
Senju and Uzumaki clans possessing potent chakra and large reserves is fan-created nonsense; it's got no basis, literally none, in the Canon Manga and Data-Book; there's not a single Manga scan or Data-Book page that backs this up in any manner. Kushina outright states that she was "special" amongst her clansmen, an outlier; and Uzumaki possess "distinct Life-Force [chakra]", not potent chakra; their chakra aura, signature, or whatever you want to call it, is simply different, which is why Tobirama could instantly tell Karin apart from others; their "red hair", as Kabuto mentioned, is also a genetic trait that's, like Sharingan, a direct manifestation of their unique chakra. I don't know where this information concerning "potent and large reserves of Uzumaki and Senju" even comes from, but it isn't even remotely canon. (There's a reason why Tobirama could sense Madara's chakra all the way from across the battlefield; it's nothing but his chakra's potency that allowed Tobirama to accomplish that as he isn't even a particularly good Sensor.)
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The man called Kisame let out a wheezing chuckle that turned into a dry laugh. There was something about the young Uchiha before him that was so amusing, albeit he chose not to share his thoughts. He spat at the stones on the right, his white eyes shining against the cold lights of day.
His skin was slick—almost wet. Sun shone on his visible-flesh's sea-blue hue and into his eyes like a light from an old lantern. He narrowed his tiny eyes, and the gashes around them contracted. A realisation sent a quick wave of disgust through Sasuke: those were gills!
"Like what you see, littlest Uchiha?" Kisame asked and barked with laughter. The gills around his eyes fluttered. Sasuke had never seen anything like him—It? He could not understand what he was. (He never imagined that Suigetsu's "shark-man monstrosity" jokes would prove to be so literal.)
The sword by his feet wriggled and grinned; its pointy teeth, big, shiny, and dangerous. It swelled out and snapped its big mouth towards Sasuke, licking its up-turned borders, which he thought to be its lips. It was like a big puffer-fish pulled straight out of water.
"Samehada, is it?" Sasuke asked and looked curiously at the sword that slithered a little to the left and a little to the right, rolling and twisting about on the gravel. It seemed impatient.
"I hope the littlest Uchiha didn't come all this way to make a pitch for Suigetsu. He can be so vulgar with his swords," Kisame said, the smile as firm as shark's teeth upon his face; and, when he opened his mouth wider, his teeth appeared unreal, no more than decorative accessories, the rest of his mouth toothless, like a deep cut in his face.
"Sasuke," Sasuke said and sheathed his sword, his brow frowning.
Samehada let out a low sound and deflated. Kisame petted it and it went completely still. "A'right, I'll call you little Sasuke," he said, turning his eyes to him. "Is that fine?"
Sasuke sighed but did not press him anymore. "You know why I'm here?" he asked, and a sinister glint came into his eyes.
"I know . . . " he paused, looking at Sasuke as though he was deep in thought, " . . . do you want to know everythin'? Truth can be a bad thin', a terrible burden, little Sasuke. Don't forget that."
Confusion stretched across Sasuke's face. "I don't have time for riddles—and I don't believe it was my luck that Karin found you. You're not a Sensor. Suigetsu told me as much. Is it the sword? I've heard strange stories about it, but stories are . . . stories," he said and brought his gaze upon the sword that lay slumbering by Kisame's feet now, its body contracting and expanding with its breaths.
Kisame gave a few rough chuckles, his eyes upon him, and there was something in the milky whites of them that made Sasuke uneasy. How much did he know?
"Clever little Sasuke. Everyone must be proud—especially your brother," he said, "yes, Samehada found you. It likes strong chakra and yours is one of a kind—so powerful, tasty, and temptin'." He stroked his fingers against a long spike jutting out of Samehada's back, and it vibrated against his finger like a common cat, almost purring at the contact.
"Is Itachi-San still enjoyin' his power in Anbu? I heard that he has quite the hold over Leaf now. He can be a scary man. With all the resources he has, I'm surprised he hasn't found you yet," he said and bared his pointy teeth in a grotesque smile. "Ran away from home, didn't you, you slippery little boy? Wouldn't he be worried sick!"
The way Kisame's jaws jutted out, his teeth closely-packed together, he looked like a shark—a monster, not a man. "How do you know my brother? If you came here to play games—" Sasuke broke off, anger dashing against his heart.
"No, no, little Sasuke. I don't know him the way I know my foes. I may have seen him in the past. He was a younglin' back then. His limbs had yet to grow. Bones—too lon' for that body. He wasn't a man, but not a small boy, either—so tough, so soft—so cruel, so cold. Strange boy," he said in amusement, his words breaking into a humorous laugh, "some things make us like that." He tilted his head a little and cracked his neck from left to right.
"What are you—"
"Time's a wastin', little Sasuke. Mist guards are still lookin' in these forests. I'll have to leave through the Land of Rivers' border soon," he said and tightened his fingers around the hilt of that odd sword.
"I laid some traps about five kilometres away. I'll go and trigger them myself if someone approaches this area. There's only one way out of here—the other way is through the water. You'll have to swim fast," he said and flicked his head to indicate that Karin was still Sensing.
"An Uzumaki girl under your wing," he said, smiling that hideous smile of his. "Little Sasuke is clever."
"You were a part of the Tulip Squad Elite from the start. What do you know about the massacre?" he asked; Time was slipping away—there was no need to beat around the bush.
"From the start? That's a bold claim, little Sasuke," he said, his eyes upon Sasuke's face, which was still like a child's, out-blossomed with youth's tempting nature. When Sasuke did not speak, he continued: "it was never Tulip Squad way back when I was recruited. They called it the Mist Elite Force. Two squads. Two tiers. Five or six men each. Most of 'em died—killed by the higher-ups, or the missions killed 'em. It was always the same. Old tools were thrown out. New tools were brought in. The squad kept goin'." The smile slid from his face. He looked serious now, almost sober.
There was a note of bitterness in his voice, and Sasuke understood: Mist chased after him, a mad hound without a muzzle, hungered for his bones. He hid wherever he could and survived on scraps; he was trying hard to get back to his old life—when there must have been calm, a little peace for him. A dutiful shinobi reduced to . . . this? A part of him pitied the fate Mist handed to him.
Kisame pulled in a loud breath, and his shoulders dropped as though he was tired of all the running. "About twenty years ago, before you were born, most elite members of the Squad were hired to get a rare pair of eyes from somewhere around Waterfalls Village," he said, his eyes growing bigger and bigger, the elastic skin around his eyes stretching the gills into deep, straight lines in his face.
"You weren't a part of the top Elite?" Sasuke asked, curiosity creeping over his white face.
"No, but they were good men—Shinobis doin' their duties. At that time, Mist was small. Yagura was appointed as a Kage. His father died and he was a young'un. Only fourteen. The village had nothin' but money. The Seven Swordsmen kept pourin' in the gold—I was one of 'em. The bloody commissions kept comin'—the gold kept comin'. So many people to kill, so little time! We all love killin'—what are we without the killin'? Not Shinobi—only dogs, and no one likes bein' called what he is. We want to be somethin' else, don't we, little Sasuke?" Kisame paused, his eyes closing and opening, to emit a very long breath and continued:
"The village fed on blood. Everyone was a rich bastard. In time, Mist grew and began to feed on our blood. Times changed. Leaf sucked dry the power of many lands, and the commissions stopped—the blood stopped comin' for us. Truth is, there were too many of us—dogs without bones to feed on. The killin' never stopped. No, the Great Wars turned it into the Villages' song—everyone loved to sing it!" he stopped, mouth twisting, eyes contracting to little black points; and then he spoke again:
"Mist still had money, but money can't make a good army. You need more for that. The village was growin' out of Yagura's control, and that made the boy afraid. Paranoid. He feared death at the hands of his men, a death he knew was comin' for him. No one likes a little boy, not if he isn't thrashing in his bed.
"He wanted power to rule, but he didn't have any. One day he was lucky, and the next, he was unlucky—walkin' to his violent death. He didn't know. No man knows how he would go out—much less a boy. Hōzuki Sosuke told him 'bout that place—a place that hid Mist's gold to form an alliance with Danzō and Leaf's Elite. Rare eyes—only you Uchiha are gifted with 'em." He slowly shifted his gaze to the red pulsing in Sasuke's eyes as though they had heard his words.
"A Sharingan? Somewhere around Waterfalls?" he asked, finding it hard to speak. Emotions burst forth upon his face through his eyes, and he could not quite contain them. He was shocked.
"Yes, a very rare pair of Mangekyō. Suigetsu's father knew where they were hidden. He went there and found another scroll—somethin' of great value to the eyes. All Yagura needed was a buyer," he said, with a smile on his face.
"Danzō . . . Mangekyō Sharingan . . . " Sasuke whispered, talking to himself. This made little sense to him. Why would Danzō want a Mangekyō Sharingan when dead Uchiha were a graveyard away? His eyes roved around the area and stopped on the sword for a brief moment before he returned them to Kisame's face.
"Yagura was a boy," Kisame paused and let out an air-stirring laughter, "he was desperate and he was stupid. Everyone's always known that Root's the scum of Leaf. Danzō's always been a dirty bastard, but Yagura? He didn't want to believe. Only Danzō could get him what he wanted, so he approached the Root's Head through Suigetsu's father, Sosuke, and made a proposition. All they had to do was relinquish Three-Tails, an Uzumaki seal to contain it, some money, and Byakugans from the Head family—and the eyes, and that scroll, would be theirs."
"It was with Konoha back then?" Sasuke asked, and his face betrayed everything he felt. There was no point in guarding his emotions now. His facades were not needed today, not now.
"Konoha's Elders sat on many of 'em. They were bartered for money and Jutsus. Your village has always been greedy," he rasped, his voice rough like gravel. "An Uzumaki woman made the seal. We all sat down in a shrine when the moon was high. It was a cold autumn night—so cold. A bad omen—a warnin', but we didn't want to listen. Danzō, Minato, Hiashi, and the surviving members of the Elite—everyone was there. That night, Yagura's rule was ensured. The new power made it possible. He was happy—the stupid boy."
"How did Danzō convince Hiashi and Minato? Those eyes never belonged to them. They were my Clan's. They had no right!" he said, resentment fiery in his voice. His breaths came out heavy and hard. His mouth contorted in anger. He was livid.
"Wars weakened the two clans. Hyūga were but a shadow of their glory days and Namikaze were left with but a few heirs. Minato was one of 'em," he said, an ugly grin pasted on his face, and continued, "Hyūga were poor. They never climbed out of that rut after the last Great War, but Minato was rich. They gave what Yagura asked—eyes for the Elite and money to make a new alliance. An alliance between the Head of the Hyūga Clan, Namikaze Minato, the scum of Root, and the power-hungry boy, Yagura."
Shock came over Sasuke's face, and he could not fight to control his trembling mouth from speaking out and saying: "Tulip Squad . . . " It was like his breaths suddenly left him. Streaks of heat went straight to his heart and it pained him. It was burning inside flames, fury like he had never known before. They were all in on it all along—every single one of them! He would kill them—he would kill them all!
A loud peal of laughter burst from Kisame's breast. "Clever little Uchiha! I like your nimble mind," he said, a note of laughter in his voice. "Yes, the Tulip Squad was an alliance. It granted Yagura power and gave Hiashi and Minato a lot of financial security. They were given special posts in the Squad, and they carried out Espionage missions from time to time. Imagine, an alliance between Mist and Leaf's roots—what a dream! It was a powerful thin', but, alas, it was just not meant to be."
"Did something—"
"Sasuke, some ninjas are approaching this area and fast," Karin cut Sasuke off loudly, "they're about thirty kilometres away."
Kisame stood up from his perch and tightened his grip on the sword's hilt. At this, Samehada wriggled—wide awake and alert. He looked at Sasuke with a strange expression, lips pulled back and teeth out; he was waiting for Sasuke to make a decision.
Sasuke's eyes were still upon Kisame, his mind racing. When he did not respond, Karin spoke again, in a louder voice: "Sasuke!"
"Damn it," Sasuke hissed and clenched his jaws together. It was no use. He looked over to Kisame who was smiling at him. "Go—I'll trigger the traps and buy you some time. Don't tell me your next location. I'll find you myself."
Kisame narrowed his glassy eyes upon him. He was still wearing that meaningful smile and Sasuke felt like . . . he knew him, somehow. "Good luck, littlest Uchiha. Don't make your brother worry. He can get so sad without you," he said and turned around, and before Sasuke could ask him any more, he vanished.
"Stay here and keep Sensing," he said to Karin and flickered away in the direction of the traps.
It took him a couple of seconds to cover the distance. Wind was hard-hitting upon his body; storm, mad over the hills! His heart could not find its right pace, but now was not the time to worry. He stopped close to the string buried under the mud. Sun had made the ground a bit hard. He pulled at it and sent a spark of Raiton that travelled like a ripple through the moisture on the ground. It triggered several explosives some five kilometres away.
Then Sasuke rushed back to Karin. They had to make it out before someone sensed his Chakra; it was too powerful to be obscured by such a small distance. He did not stop running. He grabbed her and took a long leap into the ravine. Karin let out a loud scream. They were falling down and down at an immense speed. Then, suddenly, Sasuke's hand shot out, and he threw a string at thick roots projecting from the rocks. It broke their fall and allowed him to swing across another gorge that opened up into an underground lake; his cloak flew behind him like wings.
His feet finally found purchase on the ground. He went skidding to the right and ran some more to increase the gap between the men and himself. At last, he stopped when they came upon a thicket of trees where shadows gathered. He put Karin down—whose mouth was still open in a silent scream, and her hair, tousled. He looked up towards the mountain that stood proudly under the sun. It was a hasty scramble to make it down in one piece, but he had left the clearing some fifteen kilometres behind him . . .
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Serizawa slid open the door, and his gaze fell down to Itachi lying beneath the kakebuton. A look of distress was plastered on Itachi's sweaty face; his breaths, slow and shallow. Sweat covered his face and breast. Kai was trying to bring down the fever with cold cloths placed on his breast, neck, and forehead.
Kai raised his eyes to look at Serizawa's tense face. "What did she say?" he asked and placed the hot cloth back into the pail of cold water.
Serizawa quietly closed the door and sat down cross-legged beside him. "Two days," he said and looked at the autumn moth sneaking in through the tear in the window-screen; it loved the glow of the lantern sitting beside Itachi.
"What? That means . . . " Kai's voice trailed off. A look of shock and surprise came to his face.
"Yes, only two days are left, and Itachi-Sama is still so ill. She can't do much. The Elders are with Danzō, and he isn't there to vote in his brother's favour," Serizawa said in a low voice, moving his hand to wipe away a bloody tear going down Itachi's cheek.
Silence. It was not peaceful but the deafening and painful sort. They heard the flutters of the moth's delicate wings. The discordant sounds of Itachi's breaths and the wings . . . it felt eerie to their ears.
"We can wake him up," Kai suggested, eyes glowing redder, "push a lot of chakra into his temples to soothe his eyes. He's been out since yesterday. It'll be night soon. There's no telling when he'll come to. It might be too late when he does. He won't forgive us. He'll never forgive us if something happens to Sasuke." He looked at Serizawa fearfully.
"There's no need. Suigetsu will be back by nightfall. Sasuke only sent him away for two days. Let's wait," Serizawa said and touched Itachi's wrist to check his pulse and fever. The heat of his fever had cooled down quite a bit. Even his pulse was steady, but it was far too soon.
"Aren't you the one who told me to take Sasuke seriously? Are you in a mood to abandon him now? I don't understand you, Serizawa," he said and gazed at the flutter of Itachi's lashes. His eyes moved left and right rapidly: he was dreaming.
"Of course I'd never want that," he said and leant forward, "but there's no point in waking him up now. He is ill and he is weak. At the rate he was going, he would've got blind for weeks. He would've put himself into a coma. Who would've protected Sasuke—protected the Clan? No one. It's all right to sacrifice one night. Storms are coming in from all sides. Sasuke couldn't have gone far."
"You believe in small sacrifices, do you?" Kai asked and pulled out the wet cloth from the pail. He wrung it out and pressed it against the side of Itachi's neck. There was no reaction from him: he looked peaceful . . .
"I do. We can still push a bit of chakra into his temples and give him herbs to soothe his eyes. It'd bring the fever down faster. It shouldn't take more than a few hours, and by the time he wakes up, his eyes will be good as new," Serizawa said and plucked the moth from the lamp. It struggled between his fingers.
"He will be furious. Don't say I didn't warn you," Kai muttered and pulled the other cloth from over Itachi's breast.
"Isn't he always?" Serizawa said, with an amused laugh. "Like Sasuke, he doesn't listen. Worry made him a little hasty, but that's the sort of man I want as our Head. As long as he's like this, he'll become a great leader for our people. The kind we need."
Kai looked at him and the moth still caught between his fingers. There was a reassuring smile on Serizawa's face. It was a mild smile, and Kai returned it with a pleasant one of his own . . .
The sky was in the grasp of night and angry clouds. Thunder roared, a ravening beast, marking its territory. Itachi was left alone to sleep peacefully. His fever had broken; his heart was steady, yet he dreamt. The persistent sounds of thunder invaded his thoughts and plucked a memory from his past.
It was a night like this: the sky, no less angry. He slept peacefully in his room. He sat up with a start when he felt a small body shivering against his leg under the kakebuton. He pulled the kakebuton up and found Sasuke rolled up into a ball next to his thigh.
"Sasuke, what's wrong?" he asked and pushed the kakebuton back. Sasuke lifted his head up, his eyes big and wide. He let out a little squeak when thunder shook the whole room. He buried his face in the kakebuton again, and his eyes closed tightly.
"Nii-San, I hate lightning—I hate thunder!" he said, his voice muffled by the futon.
Itachi smiled and crossed his legs. He lifted Sasuke up by the arms and set down the child on his lap and held him that way. He brushed his fingers against Sasuke's brow and spoke: "it's late. I have a mission tomorrow. Okā-San will be angry if she finds you in my room. You're five and a big boy now. Isn't that what you told me last time when you asked for your own room?"
Lightning flashed, and before the rumbling sound of thunder came to them from across the sky, Sasuke pressed his hands against his ears and narrowed his eyes. His mouth pursed in concentration, and half of his upper body jerked forward when the roaring echoed through the house. "See, Nii-San, see? It's so scary! What if it falls down on my head?" he shouted over the long, crashing sound.
"Lightning?" Itachi asked and pushed Sasuke's messy hair from his cheek.
"Yes! Thunder can't fall down on my head like that!" he said, his voice so soft and sweet, and stood up on his lap, his head barely making it to Itachi's brow. He was still so small.
"Lightning won't hit you. It's an electrostatic discharge. It can't come inside the house," he said, smiling softly.
"I know—don't be mean!" Sasuke frowned in response, making a face as if his brother was not taking him seriously. Then a smile broke out on his face, and he looked back at him. "Can you teach me, Nii-San?" he asked and sat back down again.
"Teach you—?" Itachi tilted his head a little and leant forward to pull the kakebuton over Sasuke's legs.
"Raiton, Nii-San," he said, "Shisui told me that I can make it when I grow up. Will you, Nii-San? Will you?" He pulled at Itachi's shirt. Itachi did not know what to say in response.
"Shisui-San, Sasuke. You can't call older people by their names. That's not polite. You're a good boy, aren't you?" he corrected him kindly. "I don't have a Raiton affinity. I can't teach that to you."
"Okay," he whispered and bent his head down. He looked sad.
"I can teach you how to control your chakra. You can learn anything with that. I promise you," he said and touched Sasuke's forehead again when he created a big smile on his small face. His plump cheeks and bowed lips, kissed by a rose's love. He was happy. Most beautiful boy—it was not right when he grew sad.
Itachi directed his eyes to the door when he heard soft steps on the other side. A moment later, Mikoto slid open the door. A little light from the lantern in the corridor leaked into Itachi's room and parted the congregation of shadows in the middle. "Sasuke, are you still bothering your brother? He has a mission tomorrow. If thunder still frightens you, you can come and sleep with me. Come along—let your brother get some rest," she said, touching a hand to her cheek.
Letting out a small protesting sound, Sasuke mumbled something incoherent. He frowned, his lips pouting, and slid further down under the kakebuton to cover his face. Itachi smiled down at him and then looked at Mikoto. "It's all right, Okā-San. He can sleep with me," he said and curled an arm around Sasuke's back.
"Itachi, you're spoiling him," she sighed, smiling, her mouth pink and sweet. "All right, he can stay, but he won't learn to sleep all by himself if you keep coddling him." With that, she left the room.
Sasuke jumped up and embraced Itachi. "Nii-San, I love you. Tell me a story. The last one. You didn't finish it," he said and sat back down, his big eyes fixed upon Itachi's face. He looked so obedient and lovely—eyes big and mouth curling in innocent anticipation.
"Kirin could tame lightning. He was clever, but he was impatient. He was also rash . . . " his soft words fell upon Sasuke's ears, and, eagerly, he listened to the older one speak. Those were the days. They were young and so in love with the idea that one would always protect the other.
Flash of lightning and crash of thunder . . . and Itachi's eyes fluttered open. With the lantern still lit, the details of the room swam into view. He sat up straight and buried his face in his hands. His eyes did not pain him any longer. His fever was gone. He felt a little weak, but that was expected.
When Itachi pulled away his hands and moved his eyes, he found the room empty. A cool wind snuck in through the tear in the partition screen. The winds had not been kind to it. He looked down, and his eyes fell upon the autumn moth moving on the white kakebuton. He placed his fingers in its path and it climbed on his hand.
He brought his hand close to his face, his thoughts elsewhere. Lightning flashed again and he spoke to the moth, as if still caught in the delicate web of his memories: "does the storm still frighten him?"
And somewhere far away, Sasuke sat near the cave's mouth. With child-like delight, he moved his fingers and watched the current jump from one hand to the other. He looked up and saw the ferocious lightning fall down like fire from the sky, not far from him. A resounding roar shook him to his bones. He touched the ground with his fingertips, and like starving snakes slithering across the ground, the current ran towards his hand and he soaked it up.
"You don't frighten me. I've tamed you," Sasuke whispered joyously, and there was a bold smile on his young face . . .
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