Chapter Six
Obito puffed steadily alongside Rin, the two of them trailing after a stream of red hair. Regeneration or not, no matter physical conditioning, nothing held a candle to keeping up with the perpetual motion machine that was Kushina Uzumaki.
"Where does she get all that energy?" Obito panted.
"Uzumaki Chakra Reserves!" Kushina shouted back at them, then picked up the pace, forcing the two chuunin to lengthen their strides.
Internally groaning, Obito momentarily wondered how he had gotten dragged along for the ride, before memory helpfully supplied the answer.
After the first night in Minato's house, he wondered why he hadn't seen his sensei's long-time girlfriend. As it turned out, after her debriefing and assembling a training plan after scouring the library, she had gone out for a run. The usual turn of affairs was her jumping up bright and early, a good run around the village, then a large breakfast primarily consisting of ramen or whatever Minato was cooking.
Rin had already been pulled into the redhead's routine when she became her student. And then Kushina had found out Obito was practically insomniac, and dragged him along for the ride. Ostensibly, it was to make him more tired, and by running before dawn, recovering energy along the way was nearly impossible.
On the plus side, even if it was motivated by fear of the redhead's wrath, his physical recovery was making incredibly strides, and putting him well ahead of where he had been even before Kanabi Bridge.
On the final stretch to Training Grounds 11, Kushina turned and started jogging backwards. "You know, you're going to have to do better than that if you want to be 'Obito Uchiha-sama' someday,' she said, flashing a teasing grin.
Saying nothing, he gave her an "OK" before he and Rin went to cool downs and stretching. Meanwhile Kushina moved to work on her genin.
Obito remembered little of Yuago, Asuma, and Aoba from their time in the Academy together, and more familiar and friendly faces never hurt. For a moment, it was like he could pretend things were like they used to be.
Yuago stepped into the ring with her Jonin-sensei, bokken in hand and jaw steady and set as she and Kushina took ready stances, then the two surged forward.
Even though she was better known as a fūinjutsu mistress, it was easy to forget she was a Jonin and kenjutsu practitioner among everything else. And even without the ability to outright copy the moves, the dance of blades was a rather hypnotic sight through the Sharingan. He had never really considered much in the way of weapons training, but after all that had happened, it wouldn't hurt to look into something beyond knives and needles.
Something niggling at the back of his mind, he glanced off to the treeline. It wasn't immediately apparent, but he hazarded a look with the Sharingan and spotted the discrepancy, a genjutsu woven to disguise someone among the trees. It was pretty good, and Obito ventured he wouldn't have spotted her without the dōjutsu to winnow her out of the scenery, though he couldn't quite place who was spying on them.
His attention returned to the spar when the steady rhythm of impacts waned.
"Good work, Yuago-chan," Kushina said, letting the girl back off and bow. "Aoba-kun, you're next." She glanced over her shoulder and gave the chuunin a quick wink, Rin slightly tilting her head in curiosity.
Checking where the genjutsu-concealed watcher had been, the earlier spot having been vacated, Obito had only a hair of notice when Jiraiya suddenly appeared behind him and Rin.
"Hey, Kushina-chan," the Sannin said brightly, jovially waving, "can I borrow Obito-kun for the morning?"
Kushina bit the inside of her mouth, then answered, "I was hoping to have him square off with Asuma in a bit, but if it's what I'm thinking of, you can borrow him for today."
Obito lazily stood up and followed the Sannin back into the village at a walking pace. Once they were out of earshot of the others, Jiraiya cleared his throat.
"I heard about your issues with your clan," he said.
"By 'issues' you probably mean most of the clan's treating me like a leper right now," Obito replied. "The whole village knows by now, I imagine."
"Right. Well, it hadn't really mattered beforehand, since you had the Uchiha, but let me teach you about a fairly obscure bit of shinobi legality."
Obito eyed Jiraiya as the older man took a breath.
"When genin is orphaned before their majority, their sensei can act as a legal guardian in emergencies." The Sannin paused, absently scratching his ear. "The Old Man stepped in for me and Orochimaru, I stepped in for your sensei, like he's stepping in for you now. But since he's out in the field, and there really are some things that ought to be taken care of sooner rather than later, I'll be filling in for him."
Thinking on this for a moment, Obito nodded. "Okay. You want me to call you Ojii-san?
"Don't push your luck, kid," the Toad Sannin said, swiping at the back of his head.
Still need to work on doing that technique on command, Obito thought, rubbing his abused skull. And why didn't trigger automatically?
He hadn't had the opportunity to look into what Orochimaru had said. He really hadn't had the nerve, either. Going up to the Hokage and asking about the Nidiame's write-ups on the Sharingan was more daunting than he was daring.
Maybe Jiraiya could help me with that?
When the paperwork was filed, all the meetings done, and some awkward conversations later, Obito arrived at the location for training with Team Orochimaru, a leather-bound journal in his pocket.
"So, I have had an interesting day," he said, plopping down on a bench next to the rest of the team.
"How so?" Yukio asked.
"Arguing with the bank about things like getting my account set up, then hammering out things at administration and whether or not I owe back-taxes for the months I was legally dead."
Sen blinked. "Did you?"
"Surprisingly, no," Obito replied. "I wouldn't recommend faking your death as a tax dodge. Too much paperwork."
"Well, there goes that idea," Anko grumbled, half-heartedly. "You hear that? No dying."
"I'll keep that in mind."
[NRE]
Breathe in.
Obito sat cross-legged, perched high up in the trees of the Forest of Death, eye closed as he meditated, reflecting on what the Nidiame had written about the Uchiha techniques. Thanks to Jiraiya's encouragement, he had gotten a hold of some write-ups for the Sharingan, and with it, got some good news, some bad news, and some worse news.
Breathe out.
Good news: the techniques were largely instinctual, with no special hand signs or additional chakra natures beyond what he already possessed, and no extra skills required in order to execute.
Breathe in.
Bad news: the trigger was emotive, and sometimes random. What could trigger the Mangekyō Sharingan for one Uchiha wouldn't necessarily work for another, and as far as he knew, any other members of the clan who had achieved the level-up to the Sharingan were either deployed and/or not liable to speak to him, meaning he had to figure it out on his own.
Breathe out.
Worse news: overusing the techniques would eventually lead to blindness. Usually.
Breathe in.
Thankfully, either by some genetic fluke or something done to him by Madara, his vision showed no sign of degradation in his vision. He already had his eye checked out, and if anything, his eyesight had actually improved since his previous checkup.
Breathe out.
It was still "worse news" because it just raised the question of what all Konoha's decrepit co-founder had done to him before he had regained consciousness.
Breathe in.
There were a number of terms that didn't make sense. Some stuff about Inclinations based on the initial triggering event for the Sharingan which gave an idea on which power would become preeminent when the next evolution kicked in. He made a mental note to look at it in more depth, but the first thing he had done once he had the journal was look up the technique he had used.
Breathe out.
According to the spidery-but-regal scrawl of Nidiame-sama, it was called Kamui. A space-time jutsu that could phase him into an alternate dimension keyed specifically to his Sharingan. Obito had been trying it out on his own outside of training, but apart from some near-hits, several of migraines, and no shortage of frustration, he was about ready to give it up as a bad job. Then Anko suggested a training trip.
Specifically, a trip into Training Grounds Forty-Four.
Breathe in.
Apparently, Orochimaru-sensei made it something of a tradition to take the team out into the Forest of Death once the genin had mastered tree-walking. The constant threats lurking in, around, and beneath the woods made sure they could build up their stamina while also keeping watch for and responding to dangers. In theory, a perfect way to get them used to being deployed at the front before they had to bloody themselves in combat.
That didn't make it any less terrifying.
Breathe out.
Not helping matters, he could feel the woods breathe and sigh with the wind. Nature writhing and thriving around him, close enough to touch but not close enough to grasp, clamoring for his attention, but refusing to be ignored.
Breathe in.
Sen was acting as his watcher for this exercise today, just in view of the rest of the team where Anko was leading them through some drills. Nearby, Orochimaru watched both parties, though Obito got the impression the Snake Sannin was paying more attention to him.
Obito threw his hands up in frustration.
"Anything?" Sen asked
"Nothing. Not even a blip," Obito answered, crossing his arms. "This is the first time I've really had the chance to practice with any of this. I didn't have the Sharingan until about eight months ago."
"Well, from what I can see, your chakra is staying pretty stable." Sen made a face. "How have you managed in the past? You've said you've used it in the past, right?"
Obito rubbed a hand over his eye. "It usually reacts when I'm in danger. Like if I'm about to get crippled or killed." He absently scratched his brow. "Which apparently includes kicks to the balls."
The other teen scratched his chin for a moment, then snapped his fingers in epiphany and said, "Then what we need is to put you in danger."
"That's why we came out here for trainAAIN-!"
In the middle of the sentence, Sen half shoved, half threw him off of the tree.
From where they had been, the main trunk of the tree was too far away to grab. Anko and the others were looking up at him, and there was the very close ground to consider.
Something triggered, a burning sensation in his eyes as things slowed down. Then it was as if he had fallen back into that cave, with next to no light and an eerie whistle from out in the distance.
Once he got his breathing under control again, Obito frowned and took in his surroundings.
He was in a void, hovering above some cluster of sterile, white, stone cubes that were evenly spaced, though they sat at different elevations. Gravity was a bit off, and he more floated to the ground.
Scratching his head at the turn of events, he was pulled from his musings when voices came from the nothingness around him.
"You were supposed to be watching him!" Anko snapped. "Not pushing him off the tree."
Sen's voice came next. "I had an idea to help him, and it wouldn't work if he knew what was going to happen."
"So you shoved him off the tree," Nobutoshi mused. "I thought the idea was for him to use those Uchiha techniques on command?"
"Baby steps!"
"You don't pitch a baby off a tree, Sen," Hitomi pointed out.
Rather than listen in on the conversation, Obito turned his attention back to his present circumstances.
"Alright," he said to himself. "You got yourself into this mess. You can get yourself out."
Without the abundance of foliage whispering for his attention and nothing else in the vicinity to distract him, it was easier than expected. His eye still had that slight burning, so he focused on that and took a deep breath.
"Kamui!"
Opening his eye wide, he let his chakra flare off and felt a strong tug as he was pulled back into normal space. Only to wind up encased in something. He wasn't trapped, per se, but the lack of light brought back bad memories and tight spaces were never any fun.
He could make out some muffled voices, and decided to walk towards them, and was rewarded with blessed sunlight and the sight of Anko fuming at Sen.
"What happens if he doesn't come back?" Yukio asked.
"He'll come back," replied Anko. "He has to."
"Yeah, wouldn't want to get you into trouble," Obito said. "Though I thank you for your concern."
Anko had to have been pretty distracted, as she somehow missed the reactions of the others when he pulled out of the tree. The girl jumped slightly, whirling around and kicking at his head.
"That went better than expected," Obito said with a sigh. "Thanks, Sen."
"Always happy to help!" the older teen said, giving him a thumbs up.
Anko's eye twitched. "Yosetsu, smack him for me." The dark-haired teen did just that, and her mood lightened. "Thank you, Yosetsu."
Behind them, Orochimaru smiled. "It looks like you've made a breakthrough, Obito-kun," he said, crossing arms. "But that should be enough for today. Gather your things. We're returning to the village."
"Yes, sensei."
[NRE]
Hours later, six genin and two chuunin were sitting on sturdy wooden benches next to open flames in an Akimichi BBQ place. Orochimaru had been called into a meeting with the Hokage and had told them to go on without him.
"So, yeah. That's what happened," said Obito, wrapping up his explanation the event. "It's probably going to a be a bit longer before I can readily use it on command in the middle of a fight, but that can wait until later."
Sen laughed, lightly slapping Obito on the shoulder. "Seriously, you spend weeks on that thing and you didn't figure that out for yourself? Moron."
"I wouldn't be so quick to criticize his situational awareness, Sen," Yosetsu laughed, causing the other teen whirl on him, glaring daggers.
Everyone was quiet, glancing at one another.
"Shut it," Sen hissed through his teeth.
Yosetsu raised his hands. "Whoa-ho! Take it easy. It's not like it was a secret. Or that it'd stay a secret."
Anko raised an eyebrow at the exchange. "Alright. Spill it."
The two teens had a quick, silent exchange before Sen leaned back and gestured for Yosetsu answer.
"Sen knocked up his girlfriend," the latter helpfully and cheerfully supplied.
Silence reigned at the table.
Nobutoshi broke the silence first. "Um…I guess congratulations are in order?"
Sen scratched the back of his neck, sheepishly smiling.
"Who is she?" asked Yukio. "Anyone we know?"
"Blacksmith apprentice. Her family is insisting I marry her, which I wouldn't mind, but…my uncle is not budging on the matter."
Yosetsu lightly punched Sen's shoulder. "See? They're not freaking out," he said. "I told you it wouldn't be so bad."
"It's not the freaking out part I was worried about."
Obito picked at his plate. "So…what are you going to do?"
"Not sure. Marry her, I guess." Sen winced while running a hand through his hair. "Trouble is, my clan's not wanting to entangle with a civilian clan, and her family's pissed because there's no betrothal forthcoming."
Yukio blinked and refocused on his food. "Wow. That kind of sucks."
"Was that why you weren't wanting to talk about it?" Obito asked.
Sen nodded.
"It happens," Hitiomi interjected. "Most of the established clans prefer orphans if they have to marry outside of their clan. Fresh blood and talent without having to deal with the extended family who may or may not understand or appreciate the shinobi lifestyle."
Anko nodded. "Well, whatever happens, we'll be there to help," she said, then raised her, prompting the others to do the same. "All of us."
Just as they downed their libations, a snake appeared on Anko's lap in a puff of smoke, coiled around a scroll. Its sudden appearance caused the rest of the table to flinch a smidge when they saw what it was.
"For you, Anko-san," it hissed, lifting the scroll up for her.
She quickly snagged the attached missive, letting the snake dismiss itself the way it had come in, then speed-read through the message.
"What is it?" Nobutoshi asked.
"We got some news from Orochimaru-sensei," she replied. "Apparently our light duty is getting upgraded to a transfer to the front. Vacation's over. Hope you guys like spring in the Land of Earth."
A/N: This chapter was originally supposed to wrap up the Third Shinobi War, but the thing exploded in size and I wound up cutting it up, splitting it across this chapter, the next, and part of the one after that. ~3,000 words was a bit more manageable than what was shooting towards 10,000. Obito's matchmaking will have to wait until another chapter, as will his resolution with the Uchiha.
Officially, in canon, Kushina Uzumaki was a jonin. The same goes for Mikoto Uchiha, before she retired to housewife. Since this is a fan-fic, I see no reason not to carry that nugget of information and exploit it for all it's worth. It also has the handy benefit of allowing me to place characters in quantified positions within Konoha's infrastructure and tie their histories together for later convenience.
Anyway, 5 points to who can figure out who Sen's family is, and another five if you can figure out who his kid will turn out to be. Hint: they're a canon character, and their backstory was pretty bare as far as family history is concerned. This is me fleshing it out for them.