Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
This chapter was edited by PraetorXyn
Chapter 13: Tea-time (19.10.36 AfoK)
"Tomorrow, tomorrow, it will be different. Tomorrow we are gonna make it to the tower, onii-chan." Kushina proclaimed confidently, hands interlocked behind her head.
Akiko groaned, "you said the same thing yesterday."
"But this time, I'm sure," Kushina barked back and came to a stop.
"You were sure yesterday and the day before that too, and we still got nowhere near the tower," Akiko retorted after she turned around and faced Kushina. "At least this time you managed to avoid tripping over your coat," she continued with derision apparent in her voice. "Who even wears red, a signal color? You must want to get us all killed."
I wasn't too thrilled about her change of attire either. The only reason I hadn't said anything was that her new outfit was essentially a copy of mine, just in red. The intent was obvious; by mimicking me, she wanted to make it clear for all to see that we belonged together, and I couldn't bring myself to take that away from her. Besides, if you are skilled enough, the color of your clothes wouldn't matter; I just had to make sure that she got there.
When I returned my attention to them, both were in each other's faces. "Perhaps if you..." Kushina started while poking Akiko's chest.
Oh my. I really hoped their behavior towards each other would get better, but for some reason, after they returned from eating together in the wake of our first D-rank their relationship got worse than it was at the beginning. The hate and anger simmering within Kushina when it came to her went through the roof, and then there was a whole lot of jealousy mixed in.
I knew they had some history with each other from back in the academy, but I never thought it was this bad. Sighing, I realized that something had to be done, because the usual means of having them bond over their exhaustion and aggravation against their jōnin-sensei hadn't worked. For one, even by having Kushina train with kage-bunshin, it was hard to wear her out. As a result, getting them to bond over me was made virtually impossible.
I couldn't bring Kushina to even truly feel anger toward me. In her own way, she was worshipping the ground I walked on. As for Akiko, she was just taking everything I threw at her as a challenge, some kind of pride not allowing her to even entertain the idea of an amicable relationship with Kushina.
The less said about Mikoto, the better.
I definitely needed a new approach to this problem, but first, I had to stop them before it came to blows.
Placing my hands on both their shoulders, I separated them.
"Girls, that is enough!" I ordered and then mischievously added. "If you have this much energy left to argue with each other after one of our training sessions, then they obviously aren't demanding enough, but don't worry, I hear you; we will double our efforts tomorrow."
That shut them up real fast. "Onii-chan it is not like that," Kushina pleaded in a saccharine voice I had never heard her use, "we were just kidding, right, Akiko?" And slung her arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "We are the best of friends, like sisters really."
Despite the barely hidden displeasure of being touched by the sweaty and dirty Kushina, Akiko, who was no less filthy, endured. "Yes, as Kushina said, we are like sisters, and arguing between sisters is only normal — only for them to reconcile shortly after making their bond that much stronger."
I had to give her credit — she managed to say those words without grimacing, although given her feelings, saying that must have been like pulling teeth to her. If not for my ability to sense her feelings — and the odd emphasis and strange pauses she made — I might have believed her.
Since this was them working together, I decided to be merciful and stared them down for only a few seconds, stopping just before I knew they would break. Shrugging, I walked past them and said over my shoulder, "Then I hope to see more of your sisterhood from now on."
Those words barely left my mouth, and my eyes were looking ahead again when Akiko, away from my prying eyes, freed herself from Kushina's embrace and pushed her away. They ended up glaring at each other for a moment only to huff and fall in step with me and Mikoto, who had watched their interaction with some interest while trying to make sense of things.
Not a minute later, we entered Konoha through the main gates. Standing next to the gatehouse was Uchiha Kagami, Mikoto's father.
He had arrived there ten minutes earlier, silently waiting. Since I told my students the exact time when they could be expected to return, and tried my best to stay true to those words — not that I had many opportunities to go back on them, this being our first week as a team. It was clear from the moment I sensed him arrive that he was waiting for us. I just wasn't sure if he was waiting for his daughter or me.
I showed the guards our permit to leave the village and put it back into my pocket when I heard Kagami addressing me. "Uzumaki-san, a word if you please," I turned around to face him, and there was someverywell-hidden anger in Kagami Uchiha.
"Sure, what can I help you with Kagami-dono?" I asked.
"I don't think this is the right setting to discuss the matter at hand," he offered as an excuse.
A short glance around made it obvious why he didn't want to address whatever it was he wanted to talk with me about in public. Of course, I had an inkling of what it was.
The street leading into the village — while less frequented than at other times of day — still wasn't empty, with the gate guards and some other people milling around. Definitely not the right setting unless the contents of our discussion were supposed to be known by the whole village this time tomorrow.
Even him waiting for me at the gates — ambushing me, in the strictest sense — would undoubtedly end up being the hot topic in certain circles for the next few days. It would only get worse if I denied his request, which given his posture was anything but a request. Well, time to face the music.
I reached into my pocket for some money and handed it to Kushina.
"Sorry, Hime — seems like we have to put our plans on hold. Here, go get something to eat, and don't wait for me. I have a feeling this might take a while."
It was clear to see by the grimace on her face — she didn't like it that someone else was infringing upon our time together. A quickly whispered "I'll make it up to you," managed to soothe her for the moment. A scene would only make this event even more memorable, so I had to prevent one from happening — it would be counterproductive.
Turning back to Kagami, I said, "You're probably right. Lead the way."
Mikoto, who so far had barely acknowledged his presence turned at the same time her father did — always half a step behind him as it was expected of the heir of a clan to behave in public — while I followed a few steps behind the two of them. If I didn't know any better, seeing this interaction between father and daughter would make me believe there wasn't much love lost between them.
Our walk was a quiet affair. We passed through the center of the village towards the clan district where Konoha's four noble clans resided side by side, the general activity already dwindling with the sun slowly setting in a reddish hue on the horizon — most of the people still around were returning to their homes and families.
The Uchiha compound, similar to the other three was surrounded by a wall a little over ten feet in height displaying the Uchiha crest. This couldn't even be considered an obstacle for a motivated civilian, let alone a shinobi. It was a cover for curious eyes — a border but not much else. I would wager the Uchiha and other clans of old, despite ending their animosity just couldn't fully trust the other clans. As a result, completely forgoing protection was out of the question, but at the same time, they couldn't go and built their compound into a fortress — thereby offending the other clans outright stating with their actions that they didn't trust them.
So they probably settled for this — only half-offending the other clans while offering no protection whatsoever. Compromise — the worst counselor there ever was when it came to making decisions.
"Uchiha-sama," we were greeted by two members of the Uchiha police guarding the entrance. They didn't seem to be very much on guard. Negligence, or allowing themselves to be lulled in a false sense of security? I expected better from the Uchiha of old, from a member of the same generation as Hiruzen and Danzō.
The Uchiha district didn't differ much from my memories of clan districts, with children using the last vestiges of sunlight to play in the gardens of their family homes before they were sent to bed, and the elderly sitting in the garden watching over them. It was quite idyllic and peaceful; all things considered.
Mikoto and Kagami led me to a house roughly located in the middle of their district, around twice the size of most other buildings around it and containing a side-wing, which if I had to guess was used as some sort of gathering place.
He and Mikoto went up the two stairs leading to their genkan and removed their shoes before stepping into the house and onto the tatami-covered hallway. I followed their example and took off my shoes, too.
"Mikoto," Kagami called out to his daughter, "make us some tea and bring it into my study."
She gave him a curt nod in response and disappeared deeper into the building. Kagami shot me a look and then resumed his walk through the house. He brought me to a small room that was separated from the main building, only connected via the engawa and a small roofed gangway. He slid the shoji aside and bid me inside.
He walked around the chabudai and took his seat facing the door we just went through and offered me the zabuton at my feet as a place to sit. I followed his invitation. Back in the day, it would have bothered me having my back to the door, as it would for most shinobi; nowadays not so much.
I waited for more than a minute for Kagami to gather his thoughts and start the conversation, when his antics of just sitting there and scrutinizing me got the better of me. My mouth was about to open to voice my displeasure. After all — he was the one who wanted to talk to me, not the other way around — so the polite thing would be to talk. When he put the index finger of his right hand in the air, I stopped myself with a raised eyebrow.
"Tea," he said, "A fruitful discussion requires tea." Inwardly I groaned; what is wrong with these people in Konoha and their tea obsession? First Mito and now the Uchiha. Well, in Mito's defense, she had some very good tea... I closed my mouth and waited.
It didn't take long for Mikoto to open the shoji. She went to the right side of the chabudai, dropped to her knees, and placed the tray she was carrying onto the table. She then proceeded to carefully move the steaming teapot and two cups from the tray onto the table. Moving the tray out of the way, she poured Kagami and me some steaming hot tea in our respective cups. Putting the teapot back on the table, she picked up the tray and asked, addressing her father, "Is there something else you need otou-sama?"
"No, that suffices for now. Get yourself cleaned up and come back when you have done so." She gave a short bow, stood up, and left the room, softly closing the shoji on her way out.
Throughout the whole time, Kagami's eyes never left me, looking at me as if I'd killed his pet rabbit and he was out for revenge.
I couldn't help myself. I just had to say something; I was sick of people playing these power games with me, and the time I spent with Sasuke didn't help matters — this Uchiha stoicism still pushed a lot of my buttons. "I wasn't aware it's an Uchiha custom to serve someone tea before killing them."
"It is not," he said with a voice lacking any kind of emotion.
"Well, in that case, I'm relieved," I mock sighed in relief. "I thought that I'd follow you to my own execution given how grim you looked."
His stare intensified at this point if that was at all possible.
Tsk, that was what I'd get for trying to light up the atmosphere. I should have known there didn't exist a single one of them without a stick up of their asses, or with the ability to crack a smile.
"Why am I here Uchiha-dono?" I asked bluntly, hoping to get this over with and stop us from dancing around the issue.
"My daughter," he simply stated.
"What about her?" I questioned, slowly getting annoyed at his monotone. If I had to worm everything out of him like this, we wouldn't get anywhere and we'd still be at it this time tomorrow.
"When she left the house yesterday morning, she did it without an active Sharingan. I'm not sure you are aware, but activating it takes a great deal of stress — a trauma being inflicted upon the members of my clan. This is why it usually activates during the first life-threatening situation we find ourselves in — more often than not, going hand in hand with their first kill or seeing one of their comrades getting killed right before their eyes. So excuse me," he said, taking a deep breath while simultaneously closing his eyes — only to open them up again with a Sharingan blazing.
Sensing chakra gathering in his eyes, I had my gaze averted from his eyes before he could open them. My right hand was clutched around a kunai while my left slightly touched the ground with a sealing array on the tip of my fingers, ready to spread within the blink of an eye throughout the room, too fast for him to even react, and by the time he would, it would have already been too late with the room being mine.
Kagami didn't know that — he was not aware he was a twitch away from being killed. So he glared at me with his clan's bloodline on full display. All my senses strained to their breaking point, ready to strike if there was the slightest indication of a huge amount of chakra being concentrated into his pupils to activate a Mangekyou Sharingan and use one of its devastating techniques on me.
"If even half the stories of what the Sharingan is capable of are true, you are now pointing a very dangerous weapon at me," I calmly said, "I understand your outrage at seeing your daughter with a Sharingan — considering what it takes to activate it, I really do — but threatening me, by brandishing what I assume to be your weapon of choice, doesn't help the situation, and certainly does nothing to contribute toward — how did you word it — a fruitful conversation was it?"
I was glad that I managed to suppress my first instinct and abstained from threatening him. It wouldn't have gone down well — not while he was expressing worry over his daughter in his own home.
Most shinobi have one trait in common — we don't lightly step back when we have decided to take a particular course of action. Second-guessing yourself after you started something and then not fully committing to it, after all, is believed to be the most frequent reason for a shinobi to die.
Therefore I tried to appeal to him in another way.
He slowly relaxed his body, and when I sensed the chakra receding from his eyes, I looked up at him again.
"Very good, I like to drink my tea without lives hanging in the balance," I showed my teeth in a small smile.
It was an act, of course. After what I went through, seeing a Sharingan unnerved me to some extent, and I had an urge to rip those eyes from the sockets of those wielding them to neutralize the threat they posed for good. On second thought, a kunai through the brainstem with a special seal combination would do the trick just fine.
Not that I really felt threatened by a Sharingan in the grand scheme of things. It wasn't so different from a kunai. Both are tools that can be used to kill someone or help one do that, and neither pose much danger if you know how to combat them. Without any exaggeration, there was no one who knew more about those eyes and how to render their various jutsu useless than myself.
However, Kagami didn't need to know that, and neither did he need to know that he was no threat to me. Besides, no boasting or telling him otherwise would convince him — nothing would, short of facing off against me himself or being told by a trusted source. Through experience, I'd learned people were unnerved when they became aware of how powerless they truly were, especially if they expected different. The following conversation would be hard enough without Kagami fighting me every step of the way. Having to deal with a combative Hiruzen was more than enough in my eyes.
Kagami sighed "Forgive me, that was unbecoming behavior towards a guest," he bowed his head a fraction, never taking his eyes away from me — the utmost shinobi decorum allowed between two equal in standing with an unclear relationship.
"It is just that as a father you can't stop worrying," he said. I could understand that. If I had a daughter, someone looking at her the wrong way would quickly become acquainted with the sharp end of a kunai — and that was with a mother still in the picture. Him being her sole guardian — since Mikoto's mother, at least according to her file, was killed in action — would exacerbate this behavior. If she were the last living piece of my dead wife, that would make me remember her every time I looked at her. I would react the same way, and there was no denying that it was a factor because Mikoto looked exactly like a younger version of her mother. "I don't want anyone taking advantage of her, no matter who they are."
Right, I drawled in my head. It had nothing to do with her disposition — nearly being a blank in regards to emotions. If I had to guess, he was fishing for information, wondering whether I realized it. In case I had, he had every right to be concerned.
The question was: do I let him know that I'm aware? No, I needed him to trust me, hiding my knowledge would achieve the opposite. He would never stop wondering if I would notice it — seeking to protect his daughter from my potential machinations and keeping me at arm's length. Nurturing his justified paranoia would only come back to bite me. The truth was the right path, or at least I hoped it would be.
Because why would I tell him I knew if I had bad intentions — when I could keep it to myself? It would make it so much harder to get to her.
I huffed, "so you wanted to make sure that I'm no such person. I can see the appeal. All it would take would be someone to get her to see things in a specific way. Presented in a specific fashion, it would be child's play to influence her. After all, loyalty and familial bonds, for the most part, depend on feelings of trust, comfort, and love." The widening of his eyes told me enough to know that my suspicions were right.
I continued as if I didn't see his non-verbal admission. "All things I'd wager she has trouble with. What further complicates things is her status as your heir. I'm sure that alone garners her a lot of attention. Provided it gets discovered that she is potentially easy to manipulate — and with little to no trouble could be convinced to give up her right of leadership to her future husband — that attention would go through the roof. Every eligible man of your clan might be vying for her hand just to get a shot at leading. It doesn't help that the Uchiha were originally a patriarchal clan, meaning she would have to fight merely to remain in her position as the head. No doubt most would welcome it were she to abdicate and make way for a man. How am I doing so far?" I wondered in his silence, the best admission I could hope to get.
"I get your apprehension, especially since you are the only obstacle for someone to take advantage of your daughter; in taking over the clan — with her clear lack of loyalties. I assure you, your fears are more than justified."
What I didn't say out loud — but which was more than implied in my statement — was that he was also the sole person outranking her. So when he died, nothing would stop her from retiring from being a shinobi. Making a deal with her husband along the lines that he gets leadership of the clan, and in return she gets a cushy life away from all the danger and responsibilities would be the next logical step. Perhaps she would need to make a few concessions like a set number of offspring — an heir and a spare.
I had a better time hiding my reaction to the realization that the chances given what I knew from the future pointed at precisely that happening.
"To come back to your original question — killing intent. She awakened her Sharingan when she was hit by my killing intent."
"How is that..." the words burst out, but he stopped himself before further losing his composure, and instead of completing his statement, Kagami took a sip from his tea and then placed his cup back onto the table.
For a moment, I was confused by his reaction — until I realized that he'd probably tried the same in order to activate Mikoto's Sharingan. So for me to succeed where he'd failed had implications that were difficult to ignore, since killing intent is often thought of as a representation of one's thirst for blood. A skill I had to hone — it takes a lot of it to make an S-class shinobi flinch.
"I have to admit Uzumaki-san, for somebody who took the mantle of leadership just a few days ago, you are very well versed in clan politics. It seems like Uzumaki-dono chose her successor wisely," his comment had me narrow my eyes at him, trying to determine if this was a dig at my jinchūriki status with him being one of the few in the village privy to that information or if I was reading too much into it.
From a certain standpoint it made sense to have the Uchiha informed about it — not only are they leading the military police, mostly responsible for the village's inner security, but they are also the only ones with a chance to combat a bijū, and by extension, a jinchūriki.
Still, it didn't sit right with me that he might know. Because this time, he was unreadable, and what I got from his emotions and chakra fluctuation wasn't any more expressive. That was the trouble with those abilities. It is easy to find out if somebody is lying or had ulterior motives — which I noticed him having the moment he invited me to join him — but it was harder to determine those intents than I would have liked. Especially during a session of doublespeak when every statement has layers of hidden truths within them.
Of course, this didn't mean I would trade those advantages for anything in the world. Still, in this case, they were inadequate.
"So, do I qualify for your seal of approval? Am I to be trusted with the care of your daughter?" I received a reluctant nod at my inquiry. "Just so we're clear, I have no intention of getting caught up in your inner-clan struggles. Not only would it be a blatant breach of the Konoha charter, but I also have enough on my hands just managing one clan."
"I'm aware," he grimaced. "I was just hoping..."
"That I would keep an eye on her," I interrupted. "Isn't that included in any jōnin-sensei's job description?"
"It is, but since you are well aware of what the future might hold for her — by the machinations of her own so-called friends and family — the idea of what people with less noble intentions might be willing to do..." he paused with a pained expression.
I got it. I really did. For one, he really must love his daughter, but on the other hand, as hard as it was to accept the fact since it was one of my pupils he was talking about — he had a point. Mikoto was a security risk — a huge one — not just because of the classified intel she could easily access as the heir of someone ultimately in control of the village's security. Even though Kagami didn't hold the seat of the head of the Uchiha Military Police, the one who did, deferred to him.
No, she was also a definite carrier of their fabled bloodline — as my actions made clear — not that it should have ever been in doubt. There was a lot another village could offer her, and that was without considering the case in which my team got captured.
Speaking of bloodlines — since I was already here, I could bring my concern directly to him and address him in person instead of going to the Hokage as an intermediary. This way, I could make sure nothing would fall into the wrong hands.
"Perhaps I can help you to at least put some of your worries to rest without spying on your daughter or getting involved in your clan politics. To my understanding, you fear the possibility that your bloodline could fall into the wrong hands," I said, careful not to speak my thoughts out loud. Just mentioning suspicions of a clan heir with less than stellar loyalty could cause trouble. This was doubly true in a village with a clan able to look through walls. His raised eyebrows clued me in that he was interested. "Unfortunately, I have to inform you that your fears are more than justified."
With practiced ease, I removed a scroll from the back of my waistbelt to which it was fastened. In one smooth motion, my thumb ran over the edge on top of the scroll, the small trickle of blood and a little bit of chakra I used the sealing-key tattoed on my fingers to release the lock it had on it and rolled the scroll open on the table in front of me. A quick glance over it was enough to identify the storage seal I was looking for.
With another touch of my finger, I released the seal, and its contents appeared in front of me. It was a carefully chosen collection of some of Orochimaru's later works — cataloged by Sakura-chan — all regarding his experiments in implanting the Sharingan. Including but not limited to notes about Kakashi's and Danzō's eye-transplants, even Danzō's arm, the last in a long list of Orochimaru's experiments could be found within. Information that was a definite cause for concern, for everyone possessing a Sharingan.
I pushed the neatly stacked documents over to Kagami. "Here, take a look at those."
There was some reservation at first, but when he followed my prompt and laid eyes on the first document, he didn't stop until he looked it all over, and for every page he read, his complexion turned a shade paler. When he was done, he placed the last page on top of the others. Silence reigned for minutes while he was mulling over what he'd just seen.
I couldn't blame him for that. To be honest, he showed more restraint than I would have in his position. That was saying something, considering that in the time when I was from atrocities like that became the norm, so I had to deal with them on nearly a daily basis, but to him, this should be something new and terrible. He probably never even considered something like this possible — that he and his clan, his family, could be seen as nothing more than a spare parts depot for dōjutsu to be farmed at someone's leisure. It must have been a chilling revelation for him.
On second thought, his clan had a history of things like that — like one of the founders of this village using his own brother as an eye-donor. The story wants us to believe it was consensual, but having met Madara I wasn't so sure about that. With only those two in the room, there was no telling what was the truth. He could have outright lied to his clan. Simply omitting some key details in a story is capable of changing the narrative in its entirety. With Madara's penchant to do just that, twist the truth just a little bit to get people to do his bidding. No, I didn't believe that tale for a second.
When he finally regained his voice, it was unwavering. I had to compliment him for that feat. "Where did you get this?"
"Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to say. Even just showing this to you is a breach of secrecy. I hope I can count on your discretion in exchange for this courtesy. I know you have questions, but I need you to understand that is all I can tell you."
"That's not good enough," he barked, abandoning his formal speech in his outburst. "There are things written in these documents only an elder, the clan leader, or the heir should know about — secrets we've kept for centuries. How does someone outside the clan come to know about them?" Suddenly his eyes widened in realization. "Tell me, who was it that disclosed this information!"
Good, I had hoped I could steer him in that direction — hinting at a high-ranking Uchiha traitor would undoubtedly lead him to suspect Uchiha Madara eventually if he hadn't already.
"I'm sorry, but as I said, everything pertaining to those documents is highly classified, especially the where and who. Suffice it to say that those who had those documents in their possession no longer walk this earth. The thing is, while I'm confident I got them all, I can't be sure that the one responsible for making them in the first place was amongst them, nor that the information was contained."
"You are saying there is a chance others have access to this..." he was struggling for the right words, "abomination."
"Yes — there is also a chance for this information to be re-discovered. It wouldn't be the first time that one mind independently came up with the same idea as someone else."
Since I had no intention of letting the lunatics originally responsible for this aberration anywhere near discovering — or was it, re-discovering... time travel is confusing — that idea, all he had to fear was somebody else coming up with it. Not that I would tell him that, since I was convinced it was overdue that the Uchiha start to safeguard their dōjutsu.
Most other clans have some form of protection for their bloodlines, full-well knowing what people with no scruples might do, with dōjutsu especially endangered since the bloodline is mostly condensed in their eyeballs — and with most believing the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of needing immune system suppressants to prevent rejection and the decreased chakra-pool and stamina accompanying it.
The silence following my comment protracted. "I don't presume to tell you how to lead your clan but considering this information might I suggest looking into ways of safeguarding your bloodline."
"You have a point," he conceded with a slight slouch in his shoulders.
But it didn't register in the way I needed it to. That was why I added, "Seems like the Hyūga had a point all along with their seal."
His nostrils flared at hearing that, but it was hard to deny the truth. They did have a point, even though it was only a pretextual reason for their seal. In truth, it was more about control for the Main-house over the Branch-house. Protecting their bloodline was a welcome side benefit.
If they were truly sincere, the Main-house members would also use the seal.
"That seal — enslaving one's family..." he scoffed.
"There are alternatives," I offered. He raised his eyebrows in a questioning manner. "Other seals... without the added feature of being able to inflict pain. Since I anticipated the chance that after you had seen those files that your clan might commission something from the Uzumaki to that effect, I came prepared."
I released another seal of the scroll lying on the table, and a device about the length of a kunai of cylindrical shape with a handle piece appeared. "I designed this. It's a tool that allows those registered as users to apply what I call micro seal directly to the eyeball of someone. The moment the eye leaves the eye-socket or the person dies, the seal activates, destroying the eye."
I picked it up, "as you can see, the device has a slider that allows you to extend a small needle. Press it against someone's eyeballs and push a little chakra into the handle, and the seal will get applied — no bigger than a dot, it is so small that it is barely visible. Moreover, if placed on the eye while the pupil is looking upwards, pulling the eyelids aside, it can be completely hidden from view; short of a close-up inspection, nobody would ever know it was even there, to begin with."
Since he didn't interrupt me and was listening with rapt attention, I released another two instruments, looking more like stamps. "To put the remaining concerns you might have to rest, since there are also other ways to get your hands on your bloodline despite stealing your eyes. I also have seals that when applied to someone, suspend their ability to produce offspring. I keyed it into the barrier surrounding Konoha, so it becomes active the moment someone steps outside the village. Of course, it is harmless for women and their offspring in case the conception already took place. Those two measures should be reliable protection.
The instruments themselves are keyed to selected users — those being the only ones able to apply and remove these seals. I suggest linking them to yourself, the clan leader, and the heiress. They are designed in such a fashion that only with the consent of one of the keyed-in users can another be added. As a precaution, there can only be two registered users of those tools at any given time, and keying in a new user also removes the previous user not assisting in the process from being able to use the tool. The seals themselves — I guarantee it — are impossible to remove without using those tools. The decryption is unbreakable, randomized, and using the user's chakra to create a different key for every seal applied with them stored within the tool. Not even I, the creator of those tools, could do it, and the same applies to those tools. They are one of a kind, non-reproducible in a way that would allow removing the seals applied via another such tool."
"I see," he said with narrowed eyes.
I got where he was coming from. This to him might look like I was advertising those tools capitalizing on the information I provided him with. I couldn't rule out that he might suspect I fabricated those documents. To arouse fear, to get him to accept whatever price I deemed those tools to be worth. Because of this and because it would spare me and the world a lot of trouble if they would properly protect themselves, I said, "Consider them a gift."
That was unexpected for him, going by the subtle widening of his eyes.
He mulled it over before he simply stated. "I appreciate this gift — but I, nor the Uchiha clan — can accept it."
"What, why?" I asked irritated, what was wrong with this guy? What else was necessary for him to see reason?
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but the creation of such seals is an expensive and time-intensive process?" He asked.
"Yes," I reluctantly agreed, "but I don't see what that has to..."
Shit — custom seals can exceed the prices of an S-rank mission by far, and that is for single-use seals. Usually, if asking for reusable seals — especially if a tool that creates them is involved — the whole thing gets licensed. Having to pay a deposit and then a fixed amount of money for the usage and ownership of the tool as a monthly recurring fee for every instance of the seal in use. The Uzumaki clan was still to this day paid by the license they issued the Hyūga for their caged-bird seal back in the day, a long time before the founding of Konoha. Not that the Uzumaki were advertising that fact.
Because as I understood it — since there was no one left to ask from the time I was from — the seal was commissioned as a way to keep their prisoners in check and to prevent them, in case a prisoner was to escape, from passing on the Byakugan to their enemies. As they realized what the Hyūga actually used the seal for, to say they weren't happy was an understatement, and this got the Hyūga blacklisted as recipients of Uzumaki seals. From what I gathered they even considered cutting all ties to that particular seal — including waiving the fee the Hyūga had to pay — but ultimately decided against doing it, not wanting to reward them for this. So they grudgingly still take the money just so the Hyūga couldn't hold onto it. Mito left some notes to inform me of this fact, but she failed to mention the reasons... I couldn't fault her for that — it was not something you tell without good reason.
"It seems you realized the reason I'm unable to accept it. Doing so — accepting a gift of such high value without consideration from us of any kind — would have all the elders raising their hackles and questioning your motives and mine. Most likely assuming that these seals have an additional feature."
Yes, I could see the problem. "There has to be a way," I mumbled.
"Perhaps there is," he mused. "If we can make it look like this seal is a payment of sorts for a service rendered by the Uchiha, it just might work."
"So we just have to come up with something plausible to that effect. That's doable..." I said.
"And I have got just the right idea," a cold shudder ran down my spine as if someone walked over my grave at seeing him grin. "A dowry," Kagami said.
"Right, why didn't I think of that — it makes perfect sense..." my thoughts came to a screeching halt. "Wait, what?!"
"It solves all these problems at the same time," he elaborated. He couldn't mean... I knew an Uchiha grinning was never a good sign.
"If you marry Mikoto, I could accept these tools as her dowry. She would also have a trustworthy husband at her side with her best interests at heart who wouldn't try to steal her clan leader position from her," he explained.
"The more I think about it, the more the idea has merit. Of course, we would need a marriage contract to determine a few things and have it in writing. For one, Mikoto is the one taking over the Uchiha clan leadership, which has to be passed to one of your future children, and of course, every one of them activating his or her Sharingan is required to become a member of the Uchiha-clan," he droned on.
I was still trying to come to grips with what he'd just proposed — my mouth hanging open, pinching the back of my hand to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I had already checked more than once if I was in a genjutsu, but no, no such luck. So the first thing I blurted out — interrupting him planning my future marriage to his daughter.
"I can't marry your daughter," which was obviously the wrong thing to say considering the dangerous undertone his response took.
"Oh, and why is that? Is she not good enough for you?"
"Wait, what?" I wondered incredulously, "Have you looked at your daughter? She is slated to become a beauty, hell she even is one," which also was the wrong thing to say, going by his eyes dangerously narrowing. Man, what was wrong with me constantly putting my foot in my mouth? I wasn't a fresh out of the academy genin. So why was I so flustered in this situation? I took a deep breath and collected myself.
"I'm already betrothed," I finally stated. It felt wrong to invoke Mito's marriage contract with Kushina to get out of this, but I was out of options.
"To whom?" He asked. I was about to answer when he reconsidered, and before I got a word out, he declared, "no, that doesn't matter. On the contrary, that would be another point in favor of this plan. With my daughter's disposition, I always wondered if she was fit for the role of a mother. Yes, yes, that might just work," focusing his attention back on me. "That betrothal you are already in does it exclude more than one spouse?"
"No, but..."
"Excellent, then I see no problem," and started looking through some drawers mumbling to himself, "where did I put those pre-drawn marriage contract forms?"
I blinked, and blinked again. Yeah, that really did just happen. Still, I wasn't willing to concede defeat that easily there was still one play left rather than outright denying him.
"What about Mikoto? She might not be sympathetic to this union. Shouldn't she have a say in it? Because I'm sure not gonna marry her against her wishes," I declared, and now this prick was smirking at me. I had to suppress the sudden urge to jump across the table and smack him over the head.
"I suspected you might be the right choice for her husband, and I'm glad that you confirmed it."
How stupid of me; of course he would want a husband for her who cared about her wants and needs, instead of one only after her status. Fortunately, not everything was lost, "I'm glad that you might think so, but still, I need to hear it from her mouth to allow me to even entertain this idea."
"Then we wait — my daughter shouldn't take long. It also gives me the time to draw up a marriage contract." With those words said, he turned his attention to a scroll he fished out of some drawer and studied its contents while at the same time writing something in another one.
I guessed as he alluded to, drawing up a revised version of a standard betrothal contract of his clan.
It was sort of worrying. Doing this alone showed how confident Kagami was for Mikoto to accept the whole thing. The good thing about waiting was that it gave me some time to think it over myself.
As much as I would like to deny it, this idea had some merit. Not only would the Sharingan be protected from people like Danzō, but it would also ensure that there was no Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan without Kagami's or Mikoto's say so. In addition, even if on paper I would have no power in managing the Uchiha clan, being Mikoto's husband by default would give me some measure of influence.
Those were a lot of positive developments that would stem from this idea, for the future of both the Uchiha-clan and Konoha, and without even considering a potential coup. Not that it could happen in the first place — with me being the jinchūriki pregnancy wouldn't weaken Kushina's seal, which meant no Kyuubi attack, no Danzō spreading rumors about the Uchiha being responsible, and hence no pushing them into a corner.
Well, if he was still around by the time this happened in my timeline. If I had anything to say about it, Danzō sure as hell wouldn't reach that age.
Forestalling Sasuke and Itachi ever being born didn't cross my mind at first. It wouldn't be much of a loss — quite the contrary with all he did. The world wouldn't miss Sasuke for a moment, and neither would I. The few good memories I had of him already fading replaced with the atrocities he committed — even if he could be saved from his darkness and the path it would lead him down, it wouldn't be worth risking a repeat of them.
It also would me leave with no viable idea of how I could get the Uchiha to accept those seals. My musing was interrupted with the arrival of Mikoto entering the room through the shoji.
With her hair still slightly wet, she sat down to my right. "Otou-sama," she said addressing her father.
"Mikoto, what would you say if I told you that I would betroth you to your sensei Uzumaki-san?"
She looked me over after hearing her father's question and stated.
"I do not understand why you would pose me with such a question otou-sama. The decision over who I am to marry is yours to make, and it is for me to follow your decision."
"Just assume for a moment that you have a say in those matters. What would you say?" He prompted her.
"If the decision would be up to me, I would accept."
"Why?" I asked, genuinely curious. "I'm older than you, betrothed, not a member of your clan, and your father would want you to take up the mantel of clan head when he retires."
"You are no older than most other suitors I have. Even Fugaku-san, the youngest of them, is about your age, sensei. So age is not a factor. On the other hand, your strength is. As for otou-sama, he stands to gain an alliance with another respectable clan of Konoha, so it is more beneficial for the clan than marrying me to another Uchiha."
She wasn't wrong with her assessment, despite lacking some key information. "Mikoto-san, despite what your father made you believe, this question was not hypothetical. He is asking, and I will only accept a marriage to you if you are agreeing to it. So I'm asking again, are you willing to marry me?"
Her eyes focused on me with a stare of an intensity of which I haven't often found myself on the receiving end and proclaimed, "yes, I will accept your marriage proposal."
With this, my fate was sealed.
"Is there something else you need, otou-sama?" she asked her father.
"No, that is all Mikoto. You are dismissed," wordlessly she stood up and left. She was barely out of the room as Kagami slid a scroll with the words "the marriage contract," over to me.
I read over it. It contained everything that he already talked about and set the date of the marriage in the month after she would have gained the rank of chūnin. The rest also seemed to be in order, and was along the lines I would have expected it to entail. The one thing I would have liked to change — that all our children bearing the Sharingan had to become members of the Uchiha-clan — was also the one thing I knew he would never budge on.
"I don't have any issues with it," I said to him.
"Good, sign it," he said and signed the copy in front of him and immediately after handed it to me. A moment later I signed the scroll in front of me. I looked the copy over to make sure they were the same and signed it too. I put my copy away together with the other documents I showed to him. I left behind the sealing tools with a short instruction manual explaining their use.
We both stood up, and Kagami escorted me back to the entrance. I slipped into my shoes, gave Kagami a short bow, and with a smile said "father-in-law," before I left.
With every step that brought me closer to her, the dread increased as I mulled just one question. How was I to break the news to Kushina?