The funeral was massive, with nearly the entire population of Konoha being present. Several notable individuals from the other four nations also attended. Gaara the Fourth Kazekage was present, along with Temari. The Fifth Raikage, Darui, and his entourage made an appearance as well. Many people gave speeches and shared stories, but by far the most heartbreaking was the tear ridden speech that Hinata Hyuga-Uzumaki gave. As much as my mother would have wanted to claim the title of most devastated, the sweet elderly woman who had just lost her lifelong companion and husband, put all other sadness and sorrow to shame.
As pained as I was, the event brought with it a sort of elation for myself and the other academy students. We were going to be given an accelerated class and the Genin graduation exam at the end of the week. Whoever passed would be immediately promoted to Genin and would of course be one step closer to exacting revenge for the loss of our beloved Hokage and our other comrades.
The group that claimed responsibility for the heinous attack on our village called themselves Kiyomeru, and they also said that this was only the beginning. The investigation had yielded very few results as to how this mysterious group had managed to overpower the original Team Seven. After the great efforts from Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, it was widely believed that the Fourth Shinobi World War would be the last real conflict in the world. Yet, despite their power, someone must have found a way to end the peace that had lasted for over three decades. The era of the Seventh Hokage was finished.
After nearly eight hours the new Hokage, Boruto Uzumaki, concluded the event and the bodies were ceremonially laid to rest. My mother and other close friends and family, including myself, remained for several more minutes paying our final respects. Eventually they too began to leave, one by one, until only my mother and I remained. She turned to me, with tears beading on her closed eyes. She spoke in a quiet, but very hard tone. It was a voice of hatred and anger. I'd never seen her like this and I was a little frightened.
"I know I was hesitant to teach you before," she said as she opened her eyes, revealing her newly awakened Mangekyo Sharingan. "But that hesitation is gone. I will teach you the secrets of the Uchiha."
With tears in my eyes again, I wrapped my arms around my mother. We stood like that for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, I broke the silence.
"We'll get these guys together mom," came my vengeful declaration.
My mother chuckled softly to show her approval, but when I looked up at her, her eyes were just as sad as they had been when she first showed her Mangekyo.
"Let's go home," she said. "I have something to give you."
The next day the academy was bustling with angry and vengeful excitement. I hadn't slept at all the night before, but that didn't slow me down. I was used to running off little sleep. The gift I had received upon returning home was a scroll containing the various Jutsu used by and observed by my grandfather. He had written it after he finished his journeys across the world. It included many Kinjutsu as well as more conventional techniques. I had spent all night reading it, learning of the Sharingan and its many forms and abilities. I also had found a small section about Sasuke's time using the Curse Mark granted to him by Orochimaru. Due to my below average Chakra, the concept of the curse seal had enticed me. But Orochimaru was a monster, and replicating his work would require me to stoop to levels that I was unwilling to even consider, even in my current state of anger about the recent incident. But the underlying function of the marks were designed to replicate another ability. An ability outlined in great detail by my grandfather. The Sage Mode. I'd immediately begun studying this. There was the Toad Sage Mode, made so infamous by the Seventh Hokage. There was also the rarely seen Snake Sage Mode displayed by Kabuto during the Fourth Shinobi World War. But something in my grandfather's writing caught my attention. A small, seemingly insignificant line of writing.
"Across all the lands, Sage Modes of all kinds are revered at the highest levels. While the most common, Toad Sage Mode has been made famous by numerous Leaf Shinobi, my research and study has lead me to believe that there are a great many more than only that and the Snake variation. In fact, if my sources are to be believed, I've found no less than three additional types, including Cats, Wolves, and one that I've only seen one reference to, Owls."
The last item caught my attention. Bird summons of all kind had been used throughout history for everything from combat to message delivery. Having an airborne ally had the potential to yield incredible power. And now I was finding out that the most ancient of them may also be knowledgeable of Sage Mode? I immediately knew what my next project would be after graduation.
"Takachi," I heard my name called by Coan Sensei. "Day dreaming are we?"
The rest of the class gave a short chuckle but it wasn't a wholehearted tease like it might have been at another time.
"No Sensei," I replied. "I was thinking on an idea to enhance my training."
"Would you like to share?" he asked with small smile.
"It wouldn't be helpful to most of the students," I replied. "In addition it involves a secret Jutsu."
"Please keep your mind on the class then," he concluded.
I nodded and began trying to pay more attention. I liked Coan Sensei. He was an excellent teacher and a great role model. He was always ready to bring out the best in his students, and he was a talented Shinobi himself. Over all he was fairly standard in his appearance. He was tall, with a medium build, brown hair and brown eyes. Above all else, he was kind. In the days after my family's loss, I was permitted to skip class. I came back to the academy anyway, after only two days. I was upset of course, but sitting around and crying was never my thing as a child. I got antsy and decided that I needed to do something or I would go crazy. So I went back. The instructors were surprised to see me as the other affected students were still absent.
Among the students who were away, was Bree Uzumaki. She was the daughter of Karin Uzumaki and Jugo. When Jugo was killed, Bree was devastated. We didn't see her for another week, on the day of the funeral. She was in class the day after and any who noticed offered their condolences. She accepted them with broken smiles, showing a great effort to keep from crying. Realizing that I'd let my mind drift again I honed in on Coan Sensei's voice.
The class was one on projectile theory, explaining the intricate physics behind the art of kunai and shuriken throwing. It was a topic that I knew very well, but I decided that a little more knowledge could do nothing but help me. After the lecture was over we moved on to the practical portion of the class. We relocated to the training dummies situated outside the back door of the academy and practiced throwing weapons of our own choosing. My personal favorite was the kunai as it could be used both for throwing and for hand to hand. I also found it easier to visualize the straight flight path of the kunai, as opposed to the more curved arching path of shuriken.
I performed all drills and techniques without my newly awakened Sharingan as I wanted it to remain a secret. I was still nearly perfect however. I took notice when I found Coan Sensei watching me more closely. I made a more conscious effort to hit the targets dead center instead of just hitting within the small target circle that the exercise required. I also noticed his smile of approval before watching him walk over to another student to assist them with their grip. I rarely ever required any type of correction on form as I was normally flawless in my performance. This wasn't vanity speaking. I had a gift, and many, many hours of intense training that allowed me to perform at the level I did.
After a few hours, Coan Sensei released the class. I rushed home, eager to read more of the scroll that my mother had given me. The streets were quiet as they normally were after we were released from class. With no one to obstruct me, I made it home in near record time. I was so focused on getting home however that I nearly failed to notice the trip wire that had been placed at the entrance to the Uchiha Compound. At the last second I stopped and checked my surroundings. Everything was still very quiet. I carefully stepped over the tripwire and advanced slowly through the mass of mostly abandoned buildings.
With a whoosh of air a masked shinobi leapt from the roof of a nearby house and descended to my position. In a flash my hands whipped through a set of hand signs and the long chokuto sword sliced through a trash can that I had substituted in place of my body. From my hand three carefully aimed kunai flew towards the masked attacker. The kunai hit the wall behind as the masked shinobi flickered to an unknown location. I checked my surroundings again and found nothing. After several seconds the shinobi flickered into existence a few feet in front of me. This time the mask was gone and long black hair flowed down past her shoulders.
"I should have expected you mom," I said with mild annoyance.
"Good reaction time," she responded, completely ignoring my irritation. "How was class?"
"It was slow," I told her with a sigh. "We went over Shurikenjutsu."
"How'd you do?"
"I was pretty much top of the class."
"What does 'pretty much' mean?"
"Humbleness is wise in the presence of adversaries."
My mother laughed. It was a genuine laugh. The sadness had not completely left her eyes, but I was happy to see that she had let some joy back in. She motioned for me follow her and we made our way to our home in the center of the Uchiha Compound. My father had brought home a gift for me from his metal shop. Being the best metal worker in the village, my father had crafted nearly all of the high quality weapons and tools used by Konoha Shinobi. Over the past several months he had been purifying metal for use in a very special sword. He had finished that sword and presented it to me that evening. It was a medium length chokuto modeled after the one my grandfather used. It had superior sharpness and durability when compared to normal swords. It also had the ability to channel any type of elemental chakra. To test that, I pulled it from its scabbard and poured my chakra into it. Thankfully, my mother rushed over and snatched the sword from me. In a flash she threw it out an open window a split second before a blast of lightning and fire came from the blade.
I apologized for my carelessness and retrieved it before more carefully controlling my chakra and repeating my attempt. This time the blade lit up and began to burn. The fire was a mild one but I could clearly see the applications of having a flaming sword. And I could always put more chakra into it. The thing that confused me is that when I hadn't tried to control my chakra at all, it had released Lightning and Fire chakra. I had always thought that shinobi only had one primary element. I was intrigued but we were about to eat, so I put it out of my mind for the moment. About half way through the meal, I asked my mother something that had been bothering me.
"Mom," I started. "I don't want to upset you, but I was wondering, how did you get your Mangekyo? I thought a dear friend had to be lost to awaken it."
My mother closed her eyes in concentration before giving her answer.
"That's sort of true," she responded. "The awakening of the Sharingan in all forms requires feelings of extreme emotion. The specific mechanics behind the Mangekyo Sharingan's awakening are particularly mysterious. Very little is known as to how or why it awakens."
I took a moment to consider what I'd just heard. If no one really knew why it awakens, then maybe the assumption about needing to lose a loved one was wrong.
"Have you been using it at all?"
"Some," she answered in between bites. "I think I have a handle on my left eye, but I have no clue what my right eye does. Currently I seem to be able to store and release Chakra in my left eye at will. I've been putting some in every day, but there doesn't seem to be a limit."
"That sounds incredibly powerful," I said with an impressed expression. "You could store enough Chakra to do anything."
"My thoughts exactly," she said with a smile. "I'll be using it to bolster my Chakra reserves for some of my more powerful techniques."
I pondered the potential of my mother's new ability as I stuffed another bite of… I looked down to discover that I'd been eating bites of pepper stir-fry, possibly one of my least favorite foods. I grimaced, but realized that my pallet seemed to be tolerating the offensive green and red vegetables for once, so I ate the next bite anyway.
"Took you long enough to notice," my father said, causing my mother to giggle. "You've practically eaten half your plate."
"Ha-ha," I said mockingly. "Thought I wouldn't notice since I've been so preoccupied huh?"
"Peppers are good for you Taca," my mother laughed. "We wanted to make sure you keep you strength up for the test this week."
I grimaced again as my mother used my least favorite nickname, which only earned me another laugh from her.
"I have another question," I said, recovering from my food frustration. "Can an Uchiha learn Sage Mode?"
My mother paused for a minute, a thoughtful expression filling her face.
"I don't see why not," she said finally. "Normally it requires extreme Chakra levels to achieve, but it may be possible with smaller amounts if your Chakra control is good enough. Good luck getting someone to teach you though."
"I kinda have that figured out already," I said. "I found a bit in Grandpa's scroll that mentioned other races that teach Sage Mode to humans. It said that Owls were on of them. I was wondering if maybe you'd heard of the Owl summoning contract."
"I have," she answered with a puzzled expression. "But it hasn't been seen in decades and I never once heard a single story about Owl Sages. I just use Snakes, and if you really want to try, you could just come and meet the Ancient Serpent with me. I promise I won't let him eat you."
"Rather not," I said with a laugh. "Seems kinda risky. You really don't know if you can become a Snake Sage without trying, and if you fail, you die. The toads by contrast would be much safer, but they'd never teach an Uchiha. I also saw Cats and Wolves on the list, but I've heard the talking ones are more or less extinct. I doubt there's anyone left to teach me. Owls on the other hand, seem to have just erased themselves from existence. Why would they do that if they weren't in hiding? Owls are definitely the ones I want."
"I see," my mother said with a chuckle. "I'll see what I can dig up. Maybe there's something in the restricted Jonin section of the library. Don't get your hopes up though."
"I think I've had enough of this stuff," I said, glaring back down at my mostly empty plate. "I fully expect to see something fried with fish tomorrow…"
That comment earned another laugh, and I excused myself from the table. Walking down the hall to my room, I continued to consider what I'd learned. I looked around my dark room slowly. With a tiny thought, my Sharingan flared and the room brightened as if the walls were on fire. Approaching my bed, I opened the drawer in my nightstand and pulled out the scroll my mother had given me. Unrolling carefully, I returned to the part I had been reading the night before.
My grandfather had outlined in great detail the nature of his curse mark, and the Sage Chakra he'd been given by Jugo during the war. It seemed to me that not only could an Uchiha use Sage Chakra, they seemed to thrive off of it. I read and reread the section over a dozen times just to make sure I'd understood it as well as possible. Finally, I decided it was time to sleep.
Over the next three days I studied the Sage Mode issue some more and I had begun investigating other sources as well, though as my mother had said, I could find nothing noting any possible locations for the contract scroll. My mother found similar setbacks, nothing alluding to possible locations, though she was able to acquire a scroll detailing Owl culture and history. I poured over that scroll during any free time I had, desperate to find a clue.
During that same time however, my mother had also begun teaching me the clan's fire Jutsu. I could already create a Fireball as tall as an adult. My mother was rather surprised as she had noticed my less than average chakra. She had used her Sharingan to investigate further and found that by some innate reflex, my chakra Control was incredibly good. After this realization, she started teaching me the basics of Lightning Release as well. After a few lessons, I was able to create a weak current across my skin. It wasn't enough to really cause any damage, but it would give a surprising jolt to anyone who touched me.
The morning of the last day of the week came, and with it, the chance for us all to become Genin. The impromptu test came in the form of a sparring match. The decision of who would pass was to be made by the instructors. Winning the match was not a requirement to graduate, though it would moderately improve my chances. All that we had to prove was that we were capable of performing adequately in all required categories. The only rule for the matches was that you couldn't kill or maim your opponent. We all went outside and our names were called by twos. My partner was Bree. I could tell she was still miserable despite her desperate efforts to hide her emotions. We sat next to each other as we watched the other students spar. Most of the sparring matches ended with only Taijutsu or a few shuriken having been used. A few used some of the more basic Ninjutsu techniques, and surprisingly we actually got to see someone use a Genjutsu. That was a pretty boring spar for everyone but me though. None of us could see the Genjutsu, except for when I stole a peek with my Sharingan. I got the impression that if the rest of them could see what I did, they probably would have been glad to not be on the receiving end.
Finally, it was our turn. We stood from our spot on the side lines and walked to the center of the sparring area where Coan Sensei was waiting.
"How are you doing?" I asked, holding my hand out in the traditional symbol of respect. "I can forfeit if you're not up to this. No one here understands your pain better than me right now."
"Thank you Takachi," Bree said with a shuddering breath. "But I think I'll be okay."
She met my hand with hers and Coan yelled out, 'begin.' We both leapt several meters backward and I began to develop my strategy. As a testament to her immense Uzumaki chakra Levels, Bree immediately produced over twenty Shadow Clones. I could have simply activated my Sharingan to pick out the real one by analyzing their body language, but I was hesitant to reveal my newly awakened Kekkei Genkai. Instead, over the course of about a second and a half, I procured and threw kunai at their vital organs until all but the original was eliminated. I realized that at some point she had to have used substitution with one or more of her clones in order to avoid my attack. This worried me, as it meant she was incredibly fast. As a testament to this she began a direct advance and was nearly on top of me in a mere fraction of a second. I was no slouch when it came to Taijutsu however. I had begun to rely heavily on my Taijutsu and Shurikenjutsu prowess due to my limited chakra levels.
When the first blow came, I was ready. Her left fist came forward in a simple straight punch aimed for my face. I batted the arm aside with my right arm and twisted my body to reward her attack with a savage kick to her right side. Surprisingly, it never land. Instead of doing what was expected which was to dodge or block the kick, she simply continued her charge straight into me. We rolled several times before coming to a rest with her on top of me. She came down with her right fist this time. I simply brought my left hand up and stopped the attack in place. She was strong, but I had been training in Taijutsu for nearly my entire life.
I was so caught up with the thrill of the fight that I initially failed to notice when the air around Bree turned cold and deadly. I looked up at her face to find her eyes completely yellowed over, her whole face contorted with grief and pain. Some strange scales were slowly spreading across her skin and the fist that I had blocked began to have more force behind it. I suddenly realized that I was in trouble. Without thinking I used the only tactic that I could in this situation. With my left hand occupied I forced Bree's left hand into compliance using my right hand. In just a few seconds, six hand signs formed. Tiger, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, and Tiger again. The fireball that shot from my mouth was nothing like what my mother could do but it was enough. Bree leapt off of me and bounded several meters backward to avoid my fiery assault.
At that point the instructors, who were serving as judges for the matches, had taken notice and moved in to intervene. Unfortunately it was far too late. With too large mutated arms Bree, in her new form, batted the three Chunin aside like they were insects buzzing around her head. With that the battle took on a totally new meaning… Survive. Bree had set her sights on me and nothing short of my death was going to stop her devastating barrage. She charged again, but this time she was faster and much more confident. Blocking and deflecting was no longer an option. For me, this had just become a long range battle. For once, my opponent could outperform my Taijutsu. I leapt into the air and procured eight more kunai, which I then sent zipping through the air at my deranged sparring partner. Without any hesitation, Bree brought up one of her enlarged forearms and blocked all eight with a meaty, "thunk," sound.
Before I returned to the ground, she leapt up to meet me. In the air, my now comparatively smaller size gave me the advantage, allowing me to deflect the brutal punches and kicks that assaulted me. I took a moment to admire the power that Bree's paternal clan provided her. I instantly understood why Orochimaru went to such lengths to acquire those traits for himself.
I kicked Bree in the chest and successfully put some distance between us, before landing nimbly on both feet, and just when I nearly gave up and retreated, I remembered something. There was a reason why Jugo followed my grandfather around. The Sharingan could bring the affliction of Bree's clan back in check. I decided that the benefits of revealing my Sharingan so soon and not dying far outweighed the benefits of secrecy. My Sharingan flared to life, and with all the adrenaline I could feel that it had advanced since the last time I'd activated it. As soon as I made eye contact with Bree there was a noticeable change to her demeanor. Her confidence disappeared as my mild hypnosis kicked in. Slowly, the scaly portions of her body began to recede and were replaced by her normal body structure. Just when I thought it was over, two Jonin that I didn't recognize leapt out from somewhere unseen and pinned Bree to the ground. In an instant, everything that I'd just accomplished was undone and Bree reverted to her murderous personality.
As with the Chunin before, the Jonin were easily thrown off and Bree returned to her feet with a blood curdling shriek. One of the Jonin pulled a large cleaver sword from his back and assumed a fighting stance. I knew that I had to intervene or someone would die. In a grey flash, I body flickered right next to Bree and positioned myself in between her and the now very serious Jonin.
"Stop!" I commanded, mustering every bit of killer intent that I could.
All three stopped dead. The Jonin both had confused expressions after taking notice of my speed and Sharingan. I only had a moment to act, so once I was sure that the Jonin weren't going to attack, I turned my head just far enough to re-establish eye contact with Bree. Once again, her body began to normalize, but this time she made it all the way back. When the yellow in her eyes disappeared, Bree realized what had happened. Her face turned contorted from rage, into an expression of fear and horror. Before anyone could say a word she turned around and ran away, cutting through a nearby ally. I turned back to the now growing crowd of observers.
"Are you okay?" Coan Sensei asked as he approached me.
"I'm fine," I replied coldly before turning my attention to the Jonin. "What the hell were you thinking!? I had it under control!"
The two Jonin became agitated.
"Listen here brat," one of them growled. "We had it under control and we were assigned to her in case this ever happened."
"And just what, might I ask, were you going to do against her?" I asked in the same tone that he used. "Kill her? Kill an innocent grieving child? You weren't even close to having her under control! If I hadn't been here, you, her, and probably several other people would have been killed. To think that this is the state of our village, that the killing of children is considered acceptable."
As I spoke the two Jonin became more and more bitter and the on looking crowd was staring at them expectantly, waiting for their response to my verbal assault. I didn't give them that chance. I turned back to Coan Sensei.
"Don't let anyone follow me," I told him.
Without another word, I took to the rooftops to find Bree. Despite her heavy exertion, she was still quite fast. It took me nearly twenty minutes and several wrong turns to catch up to her. I found her huddled in an alleyway. She was crying so hard that her entire body was convulsing. She didn't notice me until I was only a few feet from her. She tried to stand up and run again but she collapsed back into her huddled position. All the strength and power from before was gone, replaced by her own guilt and fear.
"I'm… So-Sorry," she stuttered out between sobs. "Please don't hurt me."
I didn't respond, though I had to resist the urge to laugh at the ridiculous notion of hurting her. Instead I sat down next to her, and put one arm around her. Her crying paused for a moment as she registered what I'd done. I pulled her closer to me and we stayed like that. I can't remember for how long, but it grew dark only a little while later. She only needed a friend, someone to comfort her. It pained me to know that someone could lose their father and instead of being comforted, they would be attacked. Eventually the exhausted girl passed out and her body went limp. I carefully lifted her off the ground and started for where I knew her house to be. I didn't make it half way there before Bree's hysterical mother intercepted me.
"Oh my god!" she screamed. "What happened?"
I silenced her with a shushing sound before giving my calm response.
"She's fine. She's asleep. It's been a long day for all of us."
"Give her to me," the women demanded.
"It's fine," I told her, shaking my head lightly. "I'll carry her. She's not heavy."
The red haired women eyed me critically before nodding her head and turning to go towards her and Bree's home. We walked for a moment before she asked her question a second time.
"What happened?" she asked, much calmer this time.
"Our sparring match began fairly normally," I began.
Over the next few minutes I shared, in great detail the events that had transpired earlier that day. Bree's mother listened carefully, occasionally nodding. Every time I saw her red hair swing by I took note of the similarities she shared with her daughter. Bree shared her long frazzled hair with her mother. Their eyes were the only real difference, with Bree's eyes being more similar to her father's orange eyes. Also, to my surprise and despite my claim from earlier, Bree was actually fairly heavy. Unlike many of the other girls in my class who tended to be on the lighter, soft side, Bree was hard and muscled. It wasn't a struggle for me to carry her by any means, but I took a mental note and resolved to challenge her to a Taijutsu match under more controlled circumstances.
We eventually arrived at their home and I carried Bree inside to her bedroom. I placed her on her bed gently before stepping back out of her room and turning to the girl's mother.
"I should get home," I said quietly.
"Nonsense," she replied. "You're exhausted. I won't make you walk all the way home in the dark. I really owe you for what you did today. If you hadn't intervened who knows what could have happened... "
I saw a single tear form and fall halfway down her face before she wiped it away and herded me back into Bree's room.
"She'll probably be more at ease if you're here when she wakes up," Karin told me. "I'll bring you some blankets and pillows. You can make a makeshift bed next to hers."
I nodded and she stepped out for several minutes. I took the time to analyze the room. There was a single window, a bed and a dresser. I couldn't make out much else in the dark so I activated my Sharingan and continued. The walls were a light violet with light blue trims. She had various hand drawn pictures all over her walls in no discernible order or pattern. They ranged from children's drawings to more realistic ones drawn by an artistically gifted hand. Many of the more quality drawings had Bree's kanji drawn neatly in the bottom left corner. Just as I stepped closer to one to admire it Bree's mother returned with an armful of blankets and pillows. She placed them on the floor to the side of the bed and started to leave when I spoke softly.
"I didn't know she was an artist," I said quietly.
"She got it from her father," Karin replied. "He loved to paint and when Bree was old enough to pick up a pen, she started to doodle on anything she could reach. We eventually got her a drawing book and some pencils. The stuff on the walls is mostly from that first book. She's on her second one now."
"She's got talent," I said. "Not only as an artist. She has the skills and power to become an excellent Kunoichi."
Karin nodded before walking out into the hall and closing the door. I laid out my makeshift bed and settled in. I was asleep in minutes.