Much Ado About Uchihas
"I wish to submit a formal resignation from my current mission," Anbu Weasel said evenly.
Sandaime puffed on his pipe, "Is that so?" he'd heard about the incident between Sasuke and Noriko of course.
Too many people had been just a bit eager to bend his ear over the latest development of the seven year old killer. Little geniuses fascinate, and in certain cases, frighten some people. A lot of the older clans within the village had been keeping a keen eye on Noriko's development. Many of them are just waiting for a chance to discredit Kakashi and take over the Noriko's upbringing for their own gain. The chance to have a genius, especially a female genius with no apparent ties with any major clans, would be a coup to them.
"I'm afraid I may not be able to maintain professional neutrality towards the subject," Itachi continued.
The old hokage did not quite sighed, "I see," and he did see, Noriko had physically and verbally threatened little Sasuke. The one thing Uchiha Itachi still actively cares about in his life. There is no way Sarutobi could force Itachi to favour the village's pet project over his own little brother, not when it had already forced him to choose between his clan and the good of the village as a whole.
"Very well, you are hereby excused from your current post, Anbu Weasel," Sandaime stated formally, "You may resume your usual duties henceforth," he could not risk pushing Itachi too much, not if he wants the boy to remain loyal to him.
There were no words of thanks, Anbu Weasel gave a short nod and vanished with a quiet puff of smoke. When all traces of the smoke disappeared, Sarutobi leaned back on his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. Now all he had to do is to wait for Fugaku to arrive and this day would be completed.
As though drawn by his thoughts, Uchiha Fugaku chose that moment to burst through the door.
"I demand reparation!" he thundered.
Sarutobi watched as the papers on his table flutter, discreetly waving away the anxious chuunin that had failed to restrain the Head of Uchiha Clan.
"Oh? What seemed to be the problem, Fugaku?" Sarutobi has seniority and rank over the man, there's no need for him to address him as 'sama'.
"Your pet jinchuuriki has crossed one line too many," he sneered, "the murder of a chuunin teacher, attempted murder of a fellow student and a child to begin with,"
Sarutobi soothed the fluttering papers on his table, "Those are very serious allegations, Uchiha-san,"
"And there are witnesses to both incidents, I assure you," he said almost gleefully, "teachers and students alike, as well as the anbu assigned to watch her," Fugaku is clearly on a roll here.
"That's very thorough of you, Uchiha-san," the Sandaime leaned back in his chair, "Unfortunately, for your first allegation is not quite correct. While Noriko did killed a man, she had also rendered a service to Konoha,"
"By murdering a chuunin teacher?"
"By dispatching a traitor," Sarutobi leaned forward, "Ibiki is, of course, naturally upset that she had killed the man instead of immobilizing him. He had been eager for a test subject for some of his newly developed… techniques,"
"And how did the matter of this man's loyalties conveniently come into question once he's dead?" Fugaku demanded.
"The Yamanaka clan have made great strides in probing the mindscape of the dead," he paused, "as you know, of course, since your last two cases were solved through evidence gained from the Yamanaka mind arts,"
"Of course," he sneered, "Nevertheless, none of your fine words for the jinchuuriki explains her violent assault on Sasuke's person. Surely, you do not intend to explain this act as a 'service to Konoha' when it is in fact an act of malice?" he demanded.
Sarutobi did not seem to be disturbed by Fugaku's temper. He calmly picked up his pipe, and placed it, unlit to his lips, "Tell me, Fugaku, what do you think of Uzumaki Noriko?"
"The jinchuuriki is powerful and unstable, a volatile combination,"
"Do you think she is capable of killing?"
Fugaku looked at him as though he had lost his mind, "She already has one known kill,"
"Do you remember your first kill, Fugaku?"
"Why are we discussing this now?"
"There is often a misconception among young genins and academy students. The first kill is not actually the hardest for most ninja. Often, it is an automatic defence mechanism trained into them through drills and practices," he placed one hand loosely on the table, "what most new recruits have trouble with is assassination, to knowingly kill a target in the name of duty and money,"
"This conversation is getting ridiculous," Fugaku exclaimed.
"Very well, we shall cut this short then. Answer one question for me, Fugaku," Sandaime placed his pipe on the its placeholder and looked Fugaku in the eye, "Do you believe Noriko is capable of deliberate kill?"
"The jinchuuriki? Of course,"
"Then tell me honestly, do you really believe that Sasuke-kun, skilled as he is, would have been able to survive the encounter with Noriko had she had intended to kill?"
Fugaku went white.
Sarutobi allowed the idea that his son really could have died to finally sink in.
The man had entered his office with clear intention to insult and discredit the hokage. Never did the thought that Sasuke being alive now had been due to some freaky quirk of Noriko's temper enter his mind. In fact, knowing Noriko's hatred and jealousy against little Sasuke-kun, Sarutobi had been both relieved and bewildered when told of Sasuke's survival. Frightened and shaken, naturally, but alive nevertheless.
"Allow me to understand the situation, hokage-sama," Fugaku ground out tightly, "My son had just been threatened by your pet jinchuuriki and here you are, telling me to be grateful that he survived with his life intact?"
"To survive in the shinobi world, one must learn one's own strength as well as the strength of one's enemy." Sarutobi quoted, "Tell me, who was the one to initiate the fight?"
Fugaku spluttered, "This has nothing to do with-"
"It has everything to do with it," Sarutobi did not raise his voice, but there is a distinctive chill in the room, "your son went against the orders of his superior, the proctor of the fight and knowingly attack another academy student with full intention to cause hurt,"
"That does not excuse any of that creature's behaviour!"
"Doesn't it? Your son, Sasuke-kun, I must say is either incredibly courageous, or extremely foolish to take on a student whose reputation as a chuunin killer precedes her. Really, Fugaku, your son's judgment… I hope it does not reflect on the rest of the Uchiha,"
It is underhanded and wrong and would probably create bad repercussions on little Sasuke-kun, but Sarutobi find it hard to think well of the small child reputed to be one of the best in his class for attacking a known threat. Noriko's reaction probably did not help any, but then she had the excuse of being half crazy while Sasuke's attitude stems from immaturity and an oversize ego on a power trip. The reasoning is most likely to be faulty but the Sandaime is a human being too, capable of making errors in judgement.
The threat of the Uchiha revolting against the village loomed ever closer and loosing Uchiha Itachi's trust is a large blow. One that could possibly tipped the scale in favour of Fugaku's mad plans. Thus, as the deadline for the imminent attack draws ever closer and Sarutobi could no longer put off his decision soon. Something had to be done about the potential Uchiha revolt. Right now, with their inside man's trust shaken due to Noriko's threat against Sasuke, Sarutobi had no way of knowing if Uchiha Itachi could be trusted to do what it takes anymore. If anything were to happen, Sarutobi preferred for it to happen while the intel is still relatively fresh.
"So, is this how the village view the Uchiha clan?" Fugaku's voice is tight with anger, "This is how the Senju plans to reduce our power? Cowing us with threats against our children?"
"Tread carefully, Fugaku," Sandaime said softly, "do not believe that the walls of your compound will hide plans of conspiracy within the village,"
Fugaku's face hardened, "Threats from the hokage now?"
"Do you even know who the man ruling behind the Mizukage is?"
Fugaku's countenance did not change, but Sarutobi is not the hokage for nothing. He noted the way the man stilled, face just a little too much on the side of expressionless for real.
To hide his unease, Fugaku said in an incredulous voice, "And why, are we speaking of the Mizukage now?"
"Why indeed,"
For a moment, nothing was said as they stared at each other. Each looking for an exploitable weakness. From what Sarutobi had gathered, through Noriko and Jiraiya's information, there's a possibility that the Uchiha had sought the Mizukage's aid in the alleged coup. That the Mizukage is now being controlled by an unknown Uchiha is very... disturbing. It would be to the village's best interest if Fugaku were to distrust his potential backup. Sarutobi laid his pipe down and leaned forward.
"I know of your plans, Fugaku. And I know that what you really want is certain rights you thought you were cheated on-"
"We have been cheated on!" Fugaku thundered, "The Uchiha had been marginalised and pushed aside"
"How?" Sarutobi demanded, "Tell me how exactly and we shall right this wrong immediately!"
"This village has discriminated against us, we have no rights, given no respect-"
"I see, so the police force is manned by people from all clans but the Uchiha, is that it?" said Sarutobi mildly, "your people are unable to walk the streets without fear, and your children preyed by angry mobs?" What he would really like to do is punch the man in his face, or shake him until the delusions fell out of his head.
Predictably, Fugaku turned crimson, whether with anger or embarrassment Sarutobi could not be sure.
"A civilian's position for a clan of shinobi is nothing-"
"Ah, so you are angry at the village for barring all Uchiha against joining the ninja force," Sarutobi said lightly, which is a ridiculous theory since there are at least ten Uchiha children at the academy right now. With fifteen genin, six chuunins and five jounins on active duty, Uchiha Mikoto included. He nodded to himself seriously, "a problem which shall be remedied immediately,"
"If you are determine to ridicule our position," Fugaku ground out, "I have nothing to more to speak with you,"
"Of course," Sarutobi nodded back sympathetically, "You poor discriminated Uchiha did not even have a seat at the council. How mean of us," he continued, "for letting the senju clan hog all the important positions."
This time, even Fugaku's ears went red. The Uchiha actually commands two seats within the council of advisors, one on the military position and the other as the status of a civilian. In fact, although there is a technical seat for the senju, with Tsunade prowling the five countries, gambling and getting drunk outside of Konoha, that seat had stood empty for more than three years now. Sarutobi watched as Fugaku seethed, amusement chasing worry.
Will Fugaku lose his temper here? For Noriko, being the ward of Hatake 'Sharingan' Kakashi, to verbally and physically threatening the younger son of the Uchiha Clan Head, something is bound to give. If Fugaku were to lose his temper in the Hokage's office and launch an attack, Sarutobi will have every reason to have him arrested and be interrogated by Yamanaka mindwalkers.
If he were to verbally assault the hokage, he could be reprimanded and be forced to pay reparations. Actions which would subsequently increase the rift between the Uchiha and the village.
So be it.
"Do not think," Fugaku ground out, "that we do not know why the Uchiha had been watched. You suspect us for the involvement of the Kyuubi incident!" He hissed.
Sarutobi stroked his beard, "that is indeed an unfortunate thing. Well, it was an unavoidable theory…"
"How so," snapped Fugaku.
"The eyes of the kyuubi showed traces of Sharingan control." Sarutobi said evenly. Time to show some cards and let Fugaku know why they are being watched, "a very strange and suspicious phenomenon, would you not agree?"
"Impossible," he breathed, "not possible, the Kyuubi is a monster, there is no way to subdue it, not even with-" he stopped himself.
Sarutobi kept his silence, but it is clear that Fugaku have now discerned why his clan is under watch. Time ticked by but still Uchiha Fugaku did not say anything. With tight lips, he turned and stormed out of the office. The Sandaime let him go. There is little purpose to continue with the discussion after all that.
Sarutobi settled in his chair, absently puffing smoke rings. It is not normal for him to flaunt his power or taunt a person's weakness. If the massacre is to happen in the future, he could no longer count on Uchiha Itachi as suggested by Danzo. Noriko had compromised their foil against whatever plans they could have made with the Uchiha Anbu. Fugaku had to know, up front, that he the hokage knew of his plans. Fugaku is a proud man, and it is this pride that had caused him to imagine all sorts of slight against Uchiha power. What Sarutobi had done is remind the clan leader all that he could lose in pursuit of an uncertain future.
The Uchiha had been given fair warning.
000000
When Mikoto was younger, she had a best friend.
She was a girl who picked fights with boys and won. A girl who had taken one looked at Mikoto and had decided that she had found her best friend forever. The girl grew up to be a fiery young woman with hair to match.
Kushina was everything Mikoto was not. Funny, bright, cheerful and… come to think of it, her supposed daughter, Uzumaki Noriko, did not seemed to possess any of the above character traits (hence the 'supposed'). When news of Uzumaki Noriko attacking her son reached her, Mikoto's first reaction was disbelief. Her son and that child were in different classes and should have no contact with each other. Furthermore, Sasuke would know better than to try and challenge a known danger.
Or did he?
Regardless of what virtues she might imagine her son to have, Mikoto could hardly doubt his heritage or personality. Sasuke is a child and, as such, could be easily influenced by the casual trash talk among unhappy chuunins or disgruntled drunks. While those bearing the Uchiha name pride themselves as the pillar of Konoha society, there exist a set of people that most families are ashamed to claim. The abusers, the drunks and the bigoted are universal problems that all families shared, regardless of their social standing. They are also the ones with time on their hands and loose tongues that wagged more than fishmongers' wives.
Sasuke is young and a second child, thus making him vulnerable to adults who gave such children the time of the day. Living in the shadow of his brother is hard and with no other young Uchiha about, the boy probably spends too much time with local story tellers steeped in the mires of the Uchiha Legends.
Naturally, among the stories told is the Hatake Blight that stole the eye of one of their more promising young legends. How dare an outsider bear the pinwheel eye so blatantly when there are those born to the Uchiha name that could barely even mould chakra? (These people conveniently forgot how they had despised the young child for his cheerful and prideless ways). Mikoto cursed herself for leaving Sasuke to their stories, what could they have been filling his head with?
When Sasuke was brought to her, Mikoto could only hold the shaking child tightly in her arms. What comfort could she give? That Cursed Child is the pride of the village, the weapon to be honed against their enemies. Already there are whispers that she will surpass Itachi, Kakashi and perhaps, even the Yondaime himself.
If she had been born during the warring times, that child would have been on missions already, working her way up to be battle shinobi. For, there is no way they would waste kunoichi arts on such a powerful weapon. Her talents are those that will get her sent to the front lines for combat purposes and power had a way of speaking for itself. Mikoto is the pride of the Uchiha in that she had activated her Sharingan at an early age and had made all the way to jounin status. The reward for her power is marriage to the then heir, Uchiha Fugaku, and the honour of being the mother of the genius child Uchiha Itachi.
The Cursed Child is bound to attract attention from all walks of life. A politically vulnerable child with only Kakashi of the dying Hatake clan to back her is a tempting target for ambitious clans vying for more power. Lesser clans with young sons imagine the prestige and power she could bring to their family. Wealth too, as the adopted heir of Hatake Kakashi, she stands to inherit all of the Hatake assets. Land, weapons, money, a clan house and let's not forget the hundreds of jutsu the man had accumulated through his years as an elite member of the Leaf village.
Older ninja clans are more interested in what genetic contribution she could give to their future generations. Her value exceeds more than just a power house jinchuuriki. Uzumaki Noriko has the potential to be politically powerful, rich and well connected with Utatane and the Hokage taking a personal interest in her. As far as they are concern, material wealth and Hatake's thousand jutsu are merely icing on the cake.
The problem lies in her mental instability.
None of the lesser clans had dared to negotiate for her hand yet for fear of whatever backlash she might bring into the family. Konoha is still prosperous enough, strong enough, and the girl young enough for them to imagine that they still have time to draft a negotiation. In truth, they feared her as much as they admired her power. Whispered stories about her mystical fire and ruthless nature crept along the grapevine. Also, young Hatake Kakashi might still get into his head to want a biological heir for his clan and that diminishes her value in their eyes.
Elders from the Uchiha and Hyuuga clan have more subtle plans than just outright marriage contracts. It is a proven fact that genin teammates form strong bonds with each other as lifelong friends, sometimes eventually as marriage partners. Thus, even as Noriko attended her classes as an academy student, deals are being made, strings pulled and political muscles flexed in order to gain a foothold into her world. That a nameless pink haired civilian is now her 'best friends' is immaterial. What concerned them most is her growing friendship to the Hyuuga heiress. Hyuuga Hiashi had been a little smug lately hadn't he? Look how he fawns over the girl now that she had gained such an important friend.
Nevertheless, there are those who sneered at this farce of a 'friendship'. A Hyuuga sheep trailing after the Cursed Child will not form lasting bonds. Some might even call the Hyuuga child pitiful for trailing after the Cursed Child like a puppy waiting to be fed. What are the feeble friendships of childhood against future bonds built in the face of danger, trust and life threatening situations one will face as a genin cell?
Also, the one who will be her jounin-sensei should, in theory, have the most say in moulding her beliefs and values, a prime and coveted role indeed. Her genin teammates will rise with her in power or die in the process. Plans and counter plans are already brewing in the background for this. Strategies made and discarded, most genin teams break up after a while and sometimes, for those true geniuses whose teammate could not keep up will leave the teams and be place into older, more experience teams to balanced out her power and genius. Sometimes, teams and jounin-senseis do not get along. Sometimes, having someone closer in age, closer in mentality could shift the balance of regard, and therefore power, to certain sides.
As they plotted and planned, they could not have known or even guessed that Noriko would have Naruto's more than thirty years worth of political infighting and planning in his belt. They could not have even considered the possibility that the child would not be susceptible to one of their many plans for the future.
Thus, as Mikoto cradled Sasuke in her arms and crooned nonsense into his ear, she became one of the many plotters and planners. The reason for her guile is simple. For Sasuke's survival. In her ignorance, she plotted moves and counter moves within her limited circle of influence.
As the heir, Itachi will be promised the most capable Uchiha female. Preferably one who has already awakens her Sharingan, just like Mikoto. It would be Sasuke's duty to charm the most promising female specimen outside of the Uchiha clan to merge their genes together and strengthen the Uchiha clan as a whole. For the moment, the most promising specimen is now under the scrutiny of the other clans. However, Mikoto will prevail. She will do whatever it takes to have the creature bow to Sasuke's influence.
Whatever it takes.
Thus, she devises a subtle plan of revenge.
That child would rue the day she had threatened Mikoto's baby.
Author's note:
Yeah, um, no reason why this is late. Well, it could be writer's block or just simply not enough time to sit down and think the plot through. Hope you enjoyed it though, cheers and Happy Christmas!