Hi Dear Readers! Forlorn Storyteller here, and I present to you my 'Ninth Legacy'
That's one good news, the sad news is... Supreme Dream is getting busy so she can no longer beta this story for us. ;_;
So... who is up for the job? Sad to say but I probably will delay next chap update until someone volunteer for beta, the requirements are the same.
I won't ask for perfect grammar and spelling, I just want readable and 'better' than what I do. My beta pointed out I tend to phrase sentence oddly for native English speaker, so you have to rephrase my sentence a lot.
I also need you to be responsible if you agree to help me, become a beta means you can get early update but please don't abuse that privilege. God knows how many time I got this kind of people, and in the end no news no fixed story.
You can take as long as you need (as long as it's not next year/month) but do return the fixed chapter in agreed timeline unless there's unforeseeable circumstances that delay you and do inform me.
If you want to quit, inform me like Supreme Dream did so I am not left hanging like an idiot.
Well... that's it and enjoy the story~
9th Legacy: Bond from Forgotten Legacies
"If they chose you to be their master, they're yours to wield...
I'd rather my family's legacy be in use than just sitting here and collecting dust in this old, abandoned chamber."
Uzumaki Naruto
Political language... was designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and give the appearance of solidity to pure wind. Naruto had read that from one of his favorite book, and when it came to the politics of a Shinobi village, it couldn't be truer. It was ironic in a sense that the Shodai Hokage had formed an alliance with Madara to build the village – nobly intending to stop conflict between the clans – but in the end, the physical fight had turned into a political conflict, full of underlying political opposition and bribing. Naruto hated all those despicable political issues with the fire of a burning sun. While he couldn't deny a government and military body like Konoha's could live without it, it didn't mean he had to like it. He just accepted it as a part of nature, like a food chain.
Shimura Danzo.
Hakurei had warned him that the scarred veteran had been sniffing around them, fearing the tower would become a threat to Konoha. Fortunately, Hakurei was nowhere near as softhearted as the Sandaime when it came to Danzo. The Sandaime let Danzo handle the dark, unmentionable actions that had to be done for the sake of Konoha. Hakurei, on the other hand, had no wish for Danzo's wrinkled hands to be anywhere near his young master or their tower. If there was one thing Hakurei and 'Aizen' ever agreed on, it was that they disliked Danzo trying to worm his way into the Sealing Tower. The old war hawk could snoop around in hell for all they cared, but The Tower was off limits.
Apparently a few months after Uzumaki Mito's passing, ROOT had done the grave mistake of bringing The Tower's wrath upon them. Like any other military organization, ROOT couldn't keep everything they did a secret. However, instead of revamping their security or re-inspecting their personnel, Danzo had dared to steal the Iwazaru no Fuuin (Speak No Evil Seal) from the Tower's archive to prevent the information leakage of his organization. The Tower had been furious when they'd found out and had demanded the Sandaime execute Danzo, but it was denied because of the lack of evidence. The Sandaime however was wise enough to officially disband ROOT to appease The Tower's wrath, much to Danzo's ire.
That was the start of the widening rift between The Tower and Konoha. The Tower, distrustful of Konoha's government, set up another layer of security seals to ward off Danzo. Iwazaru no Fuuin was a complex seal that keyed into his chakra signature to control his subordinate's speech, and it was easy for seal masters in the tower to ward their place by triggering the seal. If any ROOT member marked with Iwazaru no Fuuin came anywhere near The Tower's ward they would be paralyzed – just like if they tried to speak anything about Danzō – rendering them unable to speak or move.
The old war hawk had been infuriated when he'd found out The Tower created a seal that responded to him and his men. Since then, Danzo had held a grudge against the tower for the humiliation it had done to his person and organization. Which was why even though Hakurei was a loyal vassal, and he wasn't hesitant in relaying Danzo's work to Naruto. Regardless of how unsightly it was for the eyes of a young child. The Tower might be careless of what became of Konoha before Naruto came, but they were not ignorant of potential enemies such as Danzo. Naruto had to say he had never expected Konoha to be this rotten in their root, and Danzo was the source. From what Naruto had been informed, that man really had no qualms when it comes to Konoha's greater good.
When Hakurei described what kind of man Shimura Danzo was, and what the scarred veteran had done for Konoha, Hakurei asked Naruto what he thought about Danzo. "Hm... he is despicable for sure." An expected response for Hakurei, "But on the other hand, he is such a pitiful person." That one was unexpected however.
"Why do you think so, young master?" Hakurei inquired, "This man was a political enemy of your father, and he is already ours as well..."
Naruto sighed at that, gently closing the book he was reading. "Other than for snooping around and asking the Sandaime to turn me into one of Konoha's emotionless weapons?" Naruto snorted. "His methods aside, that man is reasonably wary because I was tutored by a traitor, while the villagers treat me like I am an unwanted pest unreasonably..." he listed on. "Funny isn't it? Of all people in the village, I can't feel offended that a man wanted to turn me into a weapon."
Hakurei sometimes wondered how such a young child could be so rational knowing someone was out to turn his life into a living hell. Then again, Naruto's closest friend was Uchiha Itachi, and Hakurei had seen how they could go on for hours discussing philosophy, history and politics that should be ten years too early for them. If it was his choice, these children wouldn't be burdened by the older generation's mistakes. It was too late to regret it now, however... at this point Naruto-sama had no intentions of backing out, he would fight tooth and nail to earn his rightful place in Konoha.
"All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome," Naruto quoted from the book he'd read earlier. "I think Danzo is a pitiful man so consumed by his own ideals that he's lost sight of what he should believe, just Konoha... his Konoha no less."
Hakurei chuckled softly at that, "You're very perceptive, young master."
He shook his head at that, "I'm nothing but a child, but there's a concept I hate most... Greater Good, but from what I can see, the Sandaime and his advisers buy into it." Why else would they release his status as a jinchuuriki to the public but not his heritage? "However, Danzo seems too lost it. His greater good is the future that coincides with his wish of an ideal Konoha... the conflict in the land of wood or skirmish in Swamp Country? He brings more harm than good in Konoha and yet he firmly believes in what he is doing... since he keeps doing it regardless of the trail of blood he's leading to Konoha..."
"You seem to have a solid grasp of what kind of man Danzo is, young master..." Hakurei had to say he was impressed his young master managed to get that much just from the information he'd gathered.
Naruto titled his head to the side, an amused smile painted on his lips. "What makes you think I do?" He asked incredulously. "It's merely my imagination of the kind of man who's subjected himself to staging so many tragedies for the good of his village." A man who sold his body and soul for the greater good and in the end lost sight of it.
"A wild imagination but spot on nonetheless..." Hakurei complimented. "But do be careful of this man. He treads through very dangerous territory in his self-righteous ideals... regardless of how pitiful he is." The old seal master murmured in a sardonic tone.
Naruto laughed at that, "I am young, but..." he tapped his temple, "someone inside me is much older than Danzo, and he's seen so many things through the eyes of Mito-sama and my mother."
"Kyuubi-dono has political skill?" Hakurei asked curiously.
"He is a fox of many talents, according to him..." Naruto quipped.
Training ground 19
It was another beautiful day in autumn, calm and windy as usual. Though the calmness was broken by the boisterous laughter of a certain Uchiha. "Ha ha ha ha ha!" Shisui laughed so hard tears pooled in his eyes, holding his side that ached because of the fit of laughter. He was definitely a picture that brought shame to the Uchiha's tradition of stoniness. Not that he cared, hell no, not at all.
Naruto's left eye twitched irately, he knew he looked ridiculous but shouldn't they give him a break? The blond jinchuuriki smiled, though it clashed horribly with the throbbing vein on his temple. "Laugh all you want, Shisui… laugh while you can."
"He heh…" Shisui smiled sheepishly.
Then Naruto glared sharply at Itachi who was as expressionless as ever, but the slight shaking on his shoulders betrayed his stoic face. "And you, Itachi, do you think I don't know you're laughing inside?!" he growled, flushing a deep red.
Itachi cleared his throat, "My apologies… but well…cough! Excuse me." The coughing was a pretty horrible cover; that was the last straw.
They could almost hear the sound of Naruto's patience snapping. "Argh!" The blond boy took it off then threw the green chuunin vest on the floor with more force than necessary. "I've had it with this stupid thing!"
Shisui laughed harder, rolling on the ground. "Ha ha ha! It's not our fault there's no more chuunin vest your size, Naruto… not since Hatake graduated at least!"
Itachi looked at his old vest, he had no hard feelings over it since he never wore it. "Well…" he drawled as he took his vest off of the ground, "mine is probably the smallest Konoha's ever produced since the end of the third war." And probably the last one, too.
Naruto steamed up, "I look absolutely ridiculous in that!" Itachi's old vest was of course, too large for him. While he was taller than the average eight-year-old, he was still shorter than the ten-year-old Itachi. The vest was already one size too big for Itachi when he was ten, so on Naruto it kept slipping from his shoulders. The armhole was twice the diameter of his arms, and the vest reached below his waist. "Forget it! I'm not wearing that thing! Who cares if no one knows I'm a chuunin?" he huffed angrily.
"Eh... we should take a picture of you wearing Itachi's old vest! You looked absolutely adorable!" And the next thing Shisui knew, he saw a kick aimed towards his head. He was pretty sure had he not dodged, the kick would have done damage to his cranium beyond repair, especially since the tooth (wooden base of the geta) had a steel layer on the bottom. "I swear my life flashed before my eyes just now!" he yelled at Naruto who had jumped off of his perch on the tree, and almost landed an axe kick on the Uchiha's head.
Naruto snorted at that. "I'm just testing your present, Shisui," He reasoned innocently. "It feels awesome!"
The older Uchiha blinked, "Oh really? I thought you were going to throw a fit over it."
Itachi frowned at that, "You gave that to him as a joke?" Geta were very agile and nimble footwear for bad roads and steep slopes. It was good for building up one's strength, and Itachi had seen them be used for training in martial arts. Knowing Shisui, the older Uchiha probably gave shoes to Naruto primarily as a joke with the function following second. It was just like Shisui to be so thoughtful but mischievous at the same time.
Itachi kind of guessed Shisui would act dumb. "As an adult we should forgive childish pranks such as this..." Naruto muttered in a faked condescending tone, and Shisui rolled his eyes at that. "At any rate... the height boost aside," Shisui burst into laughter at that, "they complement the fighting style I'm working on," he chirped as he leaned back. For a moment it looked as if he was going to fall, but a skillful spin on the tooth of his geta made him stand back to his full height.
"Great, now he is hooked on that thing." Shisui grumbled under his breath.
A good shinobi didn't rely on their eyes alone, but at the same time a good shinobi had keen eyes. Many trained their other senses so they wouldn't be at a disadvantage – usually their hearing or sense of smell – however, as long as their eyes were functional, Shinobi relied on their eyes the most. It didn't matter how sensitive their other senses were, if the situation permitted it, shinobi would still use their eyes more than any other senses. There was a reason why doujutsu-bearing clans were hailed in any village.
Naruto, whose sparring partners were geniuses of the Uchiha clan, knew that fact very well. It was annoying how they always seemed to know how to counter him. So when he observed falling leaves, feathers and other light objects, he got an idea. It was a pretty simple idea, and he wondered why no one had thought of it before. Probably because there were simpler methods, such as Maito Gai's insane speed. If you couldn't stop the Sharingan from predicting your next move, just move faster than their body could. Or there was the standard method other hidden villages taught their shinobi when fighting against Uchiha: run away if you're alone, and if you have the advantage in numbers, surround the Uchiha since they had a blind spot as wide as a normal human unlike the byakugan.
His method? Sounded much simpler, but to achieve it one had to be very persistent and perceptive, and fortunately, he was both.
Shisui was very intrigued when he requested a pure taijutsu spar with the sharingan active, after all in that condition Shisui could hand him his ass faster than you could say ninja. So when Shisui dodged his upper cut, the shunshin expert was completely baffled when Naruto landed a solid kick on his waist that was enough to make him howl in pain. Naruto might not be as experienced, skilled, or as fast as Shisui or Itachi, but when it came to brute strength alone, the Uchiha couldn't rival Naruto in spite of his young age.
The Shunshin expert was a bit dazed before he turned his attention back onto his sparring partner. Naruto rolled his eyes to the right and with a sharp jerk, turned his head to look to the right. Shisui followed his example on reflex and was rewarded with a vicious left hook. Naruto somersaulted backwards, putting ten feet of distance between him and Shisui. Both sides charged head on, and looking at Naruto's right foot, Shisui's sharingan predicted a front kick. That was odd, Naruto's strong leg was his left one. Shisui moved his leg, ready to intercept the kick with his own, but his eyes widened when Naruto suddenly came to abrupt halt and ducked to dodge his kick. With his leg outstretched, Shisui lost his balance for a short moment, and Naruto jumped at him. Shisui rolled to the side to dodge and regained his balance.
Naruto smirked when he saw Shisui charge at him, fed up with being on defense. Naruto, who had seen the incoming punch, dodged to the side, however Shisui predicted that move first and spun around to cut Naruto's path with a side kick. Much to Shisui's surprise his kick met empty air, not because he predicted Naruto's movement wrongly but because the blond was slower than his prediction and landed an inch away from his kick. It was a strange occurrence, and he tried to attack the seal master again, eager to land a hit.
Uchiha Shisui was aware that Naruto was faster and stronger than the average genin – the blond was already a chuunin – but his field experience was practically nonexistent. His chakra capacity and stamina were definitely larger than both Itachi's and Shisui's, and most of the time they sparred, his main strategy was dragging the fight as long as possible to wear them down. This spar was exactly that, but Shisui didn't care about winning the spar as much as he cared about figuring out Naruto's new fighting style. Naruto was out of rhythm of his predictions, the seal master either being a bit faster or slower, throwing Shisui off. He raised his leg high in the air and struck with an axe kick, purposely giving Naruto plenty of time to dodge.
The Uchiha's eyes widened when he saw the way Naruto dodged. It was as if the blond was weightless when he jumped away, or rather, it was more correct to say he floated away. It was like Naruto was less affected by gravity his movements were so smooth and light. Every time Shisui tried to hit him, Naruto would dodge it, but Shisui could tell he was uncomfortable when he did so. Naruto was concentrating really hard, as if the feint and light movement were a multitasking ordeal for him.
"Let's stop here," Shisui suggested after half an hour. Usually, sparring that long wouldn't even get Naruto winded, but Shisui could see that even though he was completely exhausted yet, he was definitely frustrated. He was sweating heavily and his breathing was nearly ragged, but it seemed he was more tired in mind than in body. "That was a pretty weird taijutsu style, I've never seen anything like it! You even got a few solid hits on me and I didn't see them coming at all, and when I did, I couldn't react in time."
Itachi, who had been quiet since the beginning of the spar, piped in, "You turned our eyes against us, didn't you?"
Shisui raised an eyebrow, "What?"
Naruto grinned at that as he gave them a peace sign, "He he... that's one aspect of my fighting style!" He grinned from ear to ear, "Sharingan or not your eyes are still human, and they still follow the characteristics of human eyes..."
"I see..." Itachi murmured.
Naruto titled his head to the side, "Well..."
"Wait! Is it okay for you to explain your fighting style to us? I thought you wanted to keep the trick secret?" Shisui inquired.
Naruto shrugged at that, "I want your review on it, Shisui... besides, my fighting style isn't supposed to be a secret from you. Knowing the trick doesn't mean it will be useless against you anyway," he huffed. "Just because you have complete understanding of a jutsu doesn't mean it won't work on you right?" Shisui nodded at that. "Besides... my fighting style is the kind that arouses your instincts, unless you can completely ignore your brain impulses – which is very unlikely – understanding my fighting style won't save you." Not that it was infallible. Naruto, of all people, knew there was no such thing as a perfect style or jutsu.
"Okay..." Shisui relented.
Naruto cleared his throat. "My fighting style revolves around misdirecting your eyes," he began, the two Uchiha listening to him raptly. "Unlike other senses, sight is the most developed sense in humans and also the most instinctive because it dominates around 80% of our perception. There is one set of characteristics eyes follow instinctively... they're drawn to certain strong colours. Red in particular is a colour the brain sees, like many creatures in nature, as a warning."
"Okay... I'm sorry, but you lost me there," Shisui crossed his arms. "I kind of get you used a lot of feints, but it doesn't explain why I didn't see you or couldn't react in time."
Naruto grinned at that. "Oh but it explains a lot about your sharingan... another characteristic of eyes is that they're attracted to fast movements and strong light."
"And what does our sharingan perceive as some sort of light that attracts them the most?" Itachi asked, titling his head to the side in amusement.
"Chakra!" Shisui answered with a huff. "All those attacks that threw me off were faster and had a lot of chakra in them, while the ones that hit me were slower with less chakra!"
Naruto whistled, "Well... there you go, you figured it out!"
Itachi was impressed, this fighting style was based on misdirection but to achieve it was no easy feat. The concept was simple, but the style itself was very complex. "It's very effective against us... or anyone with a doujutsu." He shook his head, "The better the eyes the easier you will fall to this style's flow, you make your opponent dance to your tune."
"Bingo!" Naruto laughed softly, then paused when he saw Itachi's inquiring glance. "Yes that's not all in it, there's three main elements in my fighting style. Two of them are under misdirection, while the third will explain my movement." He cleared his throat, "The second element is still about misdirection, but instead of drawing your attention with chakra and movement, I just non-verbally communicate through eye contact with you." Shisui raised an eyebrow at that. "I know there's a risk of getting caught in a genjutsu, but I have the privilege of a having partner who will solve that problem for me."
Shisui snorted at that. "Yeah right... as if I don't know you use twenty clones every day training in chakra disruption," he grumbled under his breath.
"It's another instinctive thing eyes do," he continued. "If someone looking you in the eye suddenly turns their attention away you look in the same direction instinctively, don't you?"
He recalled he did exactly that when Naruto suddenly turned his attention away from him. "Oh yeah... I did do that."
"It's a very easy thing for Naruto-kun to achieve, because our fighting style and eyes make us instinctively try to keep in eye contact with our opponent. He used that against us..." Itachi explained with an amused tone.
"And the part where you move like there's no gravity on you?" Shisui asked curiously. "Is it a gravity seal?"
Naruto shook his head and bent down to take off one of his jika-tabi (traditional Japanese socks), which reached just below his knees, revealing a seal underneath. The seal was not in a circular array but looked like a vine curved on both ends, glowing briefly with chakra before it disappeared. "This is Hikou no Fuuin (Seal of Flight), the principle is quite simple. You know that Akimichi clan technique that affects their body mass and density right? This seal doesn't go to the extreme level of the Akimichi clan, but… yeah, I kind of float in the air when I move, kinda like swimming in the air. But still... I needed more than that to achieve that kind of movement, so I had to add wind element to this seal..." He took a deep breath, "It also allows me to do this." The seal glowed briefly and Naruto jumped, the Uchihas went wide-eyed when they saw him easily jump thirty feet into the air. His fall at first was fast, but it soon became as slow as a feather.
"Wow!"
"What do you think?" Naruto grinned, "Normally, it's hard to focus chakra in your legs, but now I can do it as easy as enhancing any part of my body!" He turned around. "This is actually a bonus I didn't expect, because shinobi who can't fly are usually left vulnerable in the air, but I can think of something good to cover that~"
Naruto had learned explaining with too much technical jargon wouldn't help them to understand better, even Itachi sometimes lost him if he went to too much into details. Shisui whistled, "You look like you're almost flying! It sounds complicated but I get what it does. You're getting better in simplifying your explanations, Naruto!" Shisui grinned.
He rolled his eyes at that, "I got these finished and tested a day after my birthday before I applied it on myself, and man... it works properly, but controlling it is a real pain in the ass," he muttered in a frustrated tone. "There were a couple of times my kage bunshins got carried away by wind..."
Shisui laughed at that, "Really? That must've been a sight to see! Man! I wish I could've seen that!"
The seal master snorted, "I bet you do." He shrugged, "I did put a control seal on it, but for some reason it only controls the level of seal power, and in the end, I still have to get used to it unless I want to lose complete control of my movement."
Itachi looked thoughtful at that, "This fighting style is complex, and since you're not a taijutsu expert... you're forced to think on every step, and I can see after fifteen minutes you get tired of it. You're frustrated..."
Naruto nodded in agreement at that, "So true... But once I finish developing this fighting style, I figure it will much more lethal, especially when I incorporate my kage bunshin. However..." He trailed off tiredly, "To perfect this fighting style I have to get used to it until it becomes second nature to me... there's no way around it. Damn, I really need field experience..."
Shisui whistled at that, "Well... at this point, Hokage-sama will only assign you to C rank mission, and the toughest opponents you'll get in those kinds of missions are wild animals or bandits... or ronin if you're lucky."
The seal master groaned at that, "If I wanted wild animals, I would go to training ground 44! And I doubt Hokage-sama will give me a mission that involves killing anytime soon. Capturing bandits is more probable, but still... "
Itachi shrugged nonchalantly at that, "You can worry about that later, but first..."
"Yeah?" Naruto wondered why Itachi looked so... enthusiastic, by Itachi's standard at least.
"It's my turn to spar with you," he pointed out helpfully with thinly veiled eagerness.
Naruto stared at his best friend, "Give me ten minutes to catch my breath." That glint in Itachi's eyes was a bit scary, because a curious Itachi was a dangerous Itachi.
The Namikaze clan was an offshoot of the Senjus, though they were not as well known as their main clan. Although at this point in time, you couldn't call the Namikazes a clan as even before Yondaime's death, it had been reduced to one little family. Namikaze Muramasa was Naruto's grandfather from his father's side, and apparently, apprenticed to the same teacher Hakurei and his late brother, Sagetsu, had. Throughout the generations, Namikaze was a clan of blacksmiths and formidable weapon users, but it was Naruto's grandfather, Namikaze Muramasa who started to incorporate fuuinjutsu in his blacksmithing. The man was known as the greatest blacksmith in his generation, powerful enough to fill the honored position as one of the Daimyo's twelve guardians when he was young.
Naruto was ecstatic when Hakurei indulged him of the tales of his old friend. Now that Aizen was off of his back, Hakurei could give him another piece of his heritage. Of course everything that had been told to him was a closely guarded secret, because it went against Sandaime's law. There was a loophole Naruto had discovered to protect his people in tower in case the secret was leaked, but Naruto would keep it for now. He had to say, Uzumaki Mito-sama was an ingenious seal master, and she lived up to the Uzumaki's cunning trait to the core.
He was careful in asking Hakurei about his heritage as he didn't want to pressure the old man too much for his selfishness after all. He wanted to prove to Hakurei that he deserved that knowledge and wouldn't misuse it in spite of his young age. Hakurei was elected as the Seal division leader after Aizen's death. And much to Naruto's chagrin, Hakurei assured the young boy he was just a mere figurehead, that their division was united under Naruto-sama and that it would never change. When Naruto pointed out his inexperience and that he was recently graduated from apprenticeship, Hakurei waved off that concern because he was sure in few years Naruto would surpass him. The only thing Naruto could be grateful for from the whole division leader ordeal was that Hakurei would be the one who would deal with the paperwork.
Speaking of paperwork, Naruto was reminded about Shisui complaining about the paperwork he had to fill out to get his new ANBU ninjato, and how the logistics department had their hands full so needed a couple of weeks to process Shisui's request. Shisui had just recently been recruited to ANBU, a week before the incident with Aizen, and was really upset that he'd lost his ninjato one week after he received it. Apparently in ANBU, that ninjato was a set with a mask, uniform, and tattoo. The said ANBU set was the equivalent of a headband for normal Shinobi, a mark of baptism in their ranks.
Itachi didn't complain at all when the blacksmith informed him neither his nor Shisui's ninjato were repairable, but Naruto could tell he felt the same as Shisui about the loss. Naruto wanted to make it up to them; after all, they broke it when they were protecting him from Aizen. He had a perfect solution for that in mind, though Hakurei wouldn't be happy about it.
Uchiha Compound
Sasuke had always been a curious little boy, and he, like any little brother, was curious about his big brother's life. Especially since his brother was a prodigal Shinobi who seemed capable of doing everything perfectly. It was understandable since he had just entered the Shinobi academy, the first step to getting closer to his brother. However, unlike what he thought of, the experience was not as novel or fun. Everyone seemed to expect him to be a mini-Itachi, but unfortunately, aside from their looks, he was not as talented as his brother. When Itachi was his age, his big brother had mastered his sharingan and graduated from academy. He had become a chuunin at age ten and been recruited to ANBU half a year later. That was a prodigious record he couldn't match.
So he couldn't help but notice that since last year Itachi had become more… cheerful? He didn't know the exact word to describe his brother's change in attitude, but he was not as aloof. Before he couldn't really be open with his brother about his feelings, especially since he had an inferiority complex and was envious towards his brother. It wasn't Itachi's fault, but Sasuke truly wished everyone around him to stopped looking at him as just the little brother of Itachi, and as Sasuke instead.
Today, his class had tested accuracy and Sasuke as usual had managed to get the top score, hitting eight bull's-eyes out of the ten moving targets the academy instructors had set up. He wasn't proud that he hadn't gotten the target right on the mark for the last two, but he had been quite pleased he did better than the rest of his peers. At least, until he'd overheard his teacher saying Itachi had never missed when he'd been in the academy. He was very upset about it, because not even when he did his best did he escape his brother's shadow.
When Itachi asked why he looked so upset, Sasuke was in a daze and said his thoughts out loud. "Everyone is expecting me to be just like you." He quickly covered his mouth in a panic, but Itachi had heard it loud and clear.
Itachi frowned at that before he took a seat beside Sasuke. "I see… so you're upset because you're seen as my little brother but not Uchiha Sasuke?"
Sasuke shook his head, "I am proud to be your little brother, nii-san, it's just…"
"It's suffocating position to be in, isn't it?" Sasuke flinched at how bluntly Itachi phrased his situation. "Sasuke… you have your own path, while it's a big brother's job to be a role model for a little brother, it doesn't mean you will become me… everyone in the end grows up to be themselves and no one else."
Sasuke blinked owlishly, "But Nii-san, Tou-san always said that…"
"I guess it's a bit difficult for you to comprehend…" Itachi said as he ruffled Sasuke's black hair fondly, but at the look Sasuke shot him, Itachi quickly amended his words. "It's not because you're young or ignorant, but what I said is going against what everyone's told you." Sasuke titled his head to the side in confusion, his brother was being so difficult to understand today. "I cast such a big shadow over you, huh?" he muttered forlornly. "Hm… you see, a friend of mine saw you in the academy today."
"A friend?" Sasuke echoed, Itachi rarely talk about his friends to his family, if not at all. "A Shinobi? In the academy?"
Itachi titled his head to the side, "Hokage-sama asked him to deliver a document to the academy, and he saw your performance today in an accuracy test."
Sasuke blushed at that, "Uhm… you know? Your friend told you?" he stammered timidly.
The ANBU nodded, his lips curved up a little at the sight of his embarrassed brother. "He said my little brother looked very upset because those insensitive instructors were comparing us."
That was none of his business, Sasuke thought embarrassedly. "I'm not…"
"Well… he was pretty put off by how the instructors were being ignorant of your feelings, and how their teaching license should be revoked because they had no idea how to be attentive to their students," Itachi finished in amused tone. "And I seconded everything he said."
Sasuke stared at Itachi in disbelief, "Your friend is weird, Nii-san. Why would he feel disturbed by my teacher's attitude? In regards to me no less?"
Itachi just shrugged, "He just cares… and sometimes, I think he cares too much." Which was why Naruto was so miserable when a majority of villagers shunned him. It was harrowing to know that Naruto put so much effort into being indifferent to the villager's hatred of him. And even that effort was to protect his sanity, so he wouldn't hurt anyone.
The Seal Tower
Uzumaki was a clan of eccentrics, though coming from the Uchihas that was not an insult but rather a statement. Itachi at first was skeptical and thought it was his clan's bias against Senju and their distant relatives. Although later he found out from Naruto that the Uchiha clan had no room to talk, because apparently the Sage of Six Path's wife was an Uzumaki so actually both Uchiha and Senju were related to the Uzumakis.
Though this time, there was a sliver of truth in that. What else did you call a clan that put their freaking hair inside a good luck charm instead of a paper prayer like normal people did? It was a pretty creepy tradition to Itachi who'd had a bad experience involving fangirls, presents, and hair. There was a reason why he burned all presents from his fangirls. The last time his mother convinced him to at least open one he found a passionate letter from a girl – he didn't even remember existed – confessing her love of him and a hand knitted sweater. Said sweater at first looked well-knitted and normal, but upon closer inspection, there were strands of hair knitted together with the wool. That was the first time he followed the Uchiha's old motto, burn your enemy to death.
True, Uchiha was not one to talk about eccentrics and insanity since it ran in their family as well. Well, they were related to Uzumaki.
According to Naruto, it was another tradition of the Uzumaki clan to not cut their hair, because it was an old belief that hair was closely affiliated with one's life force and energy. Which was true for the Uzumaki clan, the clan of vitality and longevity. Apparently, their fallen hair would turn to an ashen color and lose its luster, and medics said the hair, for some mysterious reason, couldn't be used for DNA tests or anything of the like. Uzumakis, however, could preserve their hair by channeling chakra in it, the same method Naruto used to leave trails like his mother did. It was said they wove hope and wish into their hair and used it as a good luck charm.
But still Naruto was always the one who came up with the craziest ideas, and the worse part? He was dedicated to all of them, and won't stop until he see the end of it. Like now…
"This is unacceptable, Naruto-sama! Please reconsider!" Hakurei pleaded as he followed Naruto and his group to the lower lever of the tower.
Naruto sighed, "Hakurei-jiisan, we went over this already… I trust Itachi and Shisui and they have proven themselves in the skirmish with Aizen," he pointed out patiently.
Hakurei averted his eyes, "I acknowledge your approval, Naruto-sama, but it's not that simple! How would I explain this to Hiruzen-dono later?"
"Nah… it's not within his jurisdiction as Hokage, he'll ask questions, but that will risk me asking back dangerous questions he doesn't want to answer," Naruto pointed out solemnly.
He couldn't refute that logic, his young master knew Sandaime well enough. Knowing the old kage, he would just put up with it like he always did. "As long as you know what you're doing… young master."
"I do," he assured the old seal master.
"And if you would please, Naruto-sama, indulge this lowly Uchiha Shisui of what could possibly get us in trouble with Sandaime-sama?" Shisui asked playfully and impatiently. He'd been dragged from the lovely training ground to an underground level of the seal tower, and Naruto hadn't even told tell him why. It was not a lovely trip, damn it!
Naruto shuddered, "That's creepy, Shisui! Just follow me and you will find out yourself."
"You're a Shinobi, Shisui," Itachi reminded, "Be patient."
Shisui rolled his eyes, "Hn."
"And here I thought you were adopted..." Naruto grumbled under his breath the moment he heard the infamous grunt.
The older Uchiha snorted, "It seems the grunt is ever more believable than a blood test."
Naruto rolled his eyes at that. "We're here," he said as they stopped in front of an impressively massive door. It was not the shape of the material, in fact it looked like a normal door, but the sheer number of seals that were hazardously placed on the door gave it an eerie look. In short it looked cursed. Naruto placed his hand on the spiral looking device in the middle of the door, the spiral device folded like a fan, and a hole with diameter of an adult man opened on the door.
Itachi and Shisui looked at the hole in bewilderment, they had expected the door to open but not in such a fashion. They were snapped out of their musings when Naruto asked them to follow him. The Uchihas were greeted by the sight of what they thought was the most magnificent and largest armory they'd ever seen. No one could blame them gaping at the sight, for there was a numerous amount of shinobi weapons from standard kunai and shuriken, to fuma shuriken hanging on the shelves neatly. There was even ninja wire categorized by its material, chakra conductivity, and texture. Armors resembling the ones worn by Madara, the Shodai, and his brother (which they had only seen in history books) donned wooden mannequins. Itachi was sure that even the Uchiha's armory wasn't worth even half of this massive collection.
"Oi Itachi~ Shisui~" They were snapped out of their musings by Naruto's voice. "How long do you guys plan to space out?" The two Uchiha looked mildly embarrassed as they started walking to catch up with the blond jinchuuriki ahead of them. Shisui grinned at Naruto, "So your surprise is giving us a new sword?" he asked cheerfully.
Naruto titled his head to the side, "Hm... depends, do you feel anything yet?"
"Feel what?" Shisui wondered out loud.
"Eh... something like a quickening heartbeat or a foreign chakra trying to pull yours in," Naruto described hesitantly.
Shisui shook his head in a negative then turned to Itachi who did the same. "Nothing like that, Naruto-kun."
Naruto shrugged at that, "Well... that could be good or bad," he mused as they walked deeper into the depths of the armory.
Itachi hadn't noticed this before, but the path they walked was not flat but tilted at an angle, and recalling the route they had walked down, it was spiraling downward. The diameter of the tower was getting bigger as they walked on, too. The ANBU realized with fascination that the tower's blueprint must have looked like an upside down twister on elevation view, a Whirlpool, a whirlwind... Shisui snickered, no doubt he'd also noticed the tower's layout reference to Naruto's name. Naruto raised an eyebrow at them, but it seemed he was not curious enough to voice a query.
The ANBU stopped suddenly, Shisui looked around in confusion while Itachi looked equally alert. Much to their bewilderment both Naruto and Hakurei clapped at them, "Well... we didn't expect we'd have to go this deep for you to get a call." Hakurei muttered in a daze, "Young master, are you sure this is wise?"
Naruto nodded, "Absolutely... I told you I'd give anything that chose them, and I'm not going back on my word," he reminded the old seal master, then turned to his friends. "From here on, there's only one room left in armory section of the tower... so your swords must be waiting there for you," Naruto laughed softly, much to their confusion. "But man... we walk passed at least ten armory rooms, and none of those got any reaction out of either you… either you're both super lucky or not at all..."
"Can you explain?" Shisui demanded, "I have no idea what the hell you and Hakurei-dono are talking about."
"You're being too vague, Naruto-kun," Itachi chimed in.
Naruto just smiled wryly at them, "Oh believe me, I can't explain to you what's going to happen. But you have to know that after this, you'll either feel eternal gratitude to me, condemn me to hell, or a mix of both," He said as they stopped in front of another door.
If there was one word to describe it perfectly, it would be ominous. It looked very old and haunted, you could barely see the handle because the one who locked the door must have thought no one would want anything inside, thus explained the wrappings of the metal handle with a thick steel chain and lots of locks. Much to their shock, Naruto didn't use any key but started to pick the locks one by one, passing them to Hakurei who set them aside.
"Naruto," Itachi called him.
"Yeah?" Naruto hummed absentmindedly.
"You're picking locks in your own home." The Tower could be considered Naruto's home in a way. "Don't you have a key for these locks?"
Naruto nodded, "I do," he admitted. He had the spare keys to every room in the tower. "But do you have any idea of how troublesome it'd be to find the key for each lock? These locks are at least half a century old, so it's rusty and some are stuck," he reasoned.
Shisui rolled his eyes at that, "Do you know 'troublesome' is like the Uchiha's hn to Nara?"
"Have they copyright that line?" Naruto asked curiously.
"I don't think so," Itachi supplied helpfully.
Naruto just laughed softly at that as he unlocked the last one with an audible click. The moment Naruto opened the old door, their nostril was invaded by smell of age, grassy notes with a tang of acids, a hint of vanilla over an underlying mustiness found in old books, and a very familiar smell for a fire-breathing clan like the Uchihas, ashes and fire. Though none of those things mattered the moment they stepped inside the old forgery and laid their eyes on IT.
Hakurei and Naruto noticed that the cousins were looking at opposite sides. Itachi looked on the left wall where a nodachi was hung, unsheathed so Itachi could see the gleaming blade. Its curve and cut were things of beauty. It was approximately five shaku (equivalent to five feet) long with a bluish sheen on the blade that seemed more prominent than normal steel. His breath caught, it felt like the nodachi was trying to pull him in, and he could feel his chakra become erratic. Shisui felt the same as he looked at a katana on the right wall. The blade was shorter than the nodachi as it was only three shaku, but the ethereal beauty was equal.
"This is..." Shisui breathed out in awe.
Naruto smiled softly at the dazed Uchihas. "Aren't they bewitching works of art?" He voiced out their thoughts proudly. "I'm glad you found your match here. Many kenjutsu practitioners are granted permission to wander here, but not all of them are so lucky as to get a call from any blade that resides in this part of the tower..."
Itachi turned his attention to Naruto hesitantly. There must be something wrong with him to be so reluctant to pry his eyes off of the nodachi. "These swords, they are..."
Hakurei nodded, "Sentient on some level, yes..." The old seal master answered in a solemn tone, "When a seal master who's crafted their work into the form of a weapon achieves the highest level, their weapons sometimes become sentient... it's a very rare occurrence," he sighed tiredly. "These blades are one of a kind, a legacy of my old friend." He shook his head, "When young master granted permission to you, I didn't expect for these two to call you out of the hundreds of blades we possess," he muttered in exasperation, rubbing his throbbing cranium.
Naruto tilted his head to the side, "Well... it shouldn't be a problem," he said dismissively.
"Young master!" Hakurei warned him, "I won't mind in the slightest if they take any sword we have, but you should be aware of what this means if you give these swords away..."
He nodded sagely at that, "I know..." He walked to a pedestal in the center of the room and placed his hand on the seal carved on the top of it. "But I had a premonition the moment you brought me here..." he muttered softly as the chains that were holding both swords were pulled down to a reachable height. "It'd be a pity if we continued to keep them here to collect dust."
"Naruto..." Shisui called him, "I understand you want to give us some kind of badass sword, but if Hakurei thinks it's a bad idea..."
"It's not," Naruto huffed, "Now go ahead and take your sword."
They would have protested if Naruto had forced the ownership upon them, but since Naruto just asked them to take it off of its resting place... Itachi and Shisui sighed as they stepped forward and reached out to their respective sword. The moment they grasped the handle, both Uchihas cried out when they felt a foreign chakra crawl into their skin. They would have dropped the blades, but something made them unable to let go. The pain was quick and intense, leaving them dazed the moment it subsided.
Shisui was the first to find his voice, "What the hell was that?!" he exclaimed.
Hakurei sighed at the young shinobi, "It's just a playful bite of an introduction from them, it's normal."
"Then give us a freaking warning!" Shisui howled angrily.
Naruto just laughed at them as he handed Itachi a five shaku long sheath he took from a shelf nearby. "Here... I guess they gave you guys one hell of a playful bite, huh?"
Itachi narrowed his eyes, "Let me guess," He muttered in exasperated tone as he sheathed the nodachi, "Now we can't return the sword, can we?"
The blond raised an eyebrow at that, "Well... if you can find a way to get rid of it, suuuuuuure~" Naruto droned mischievously.
Instant, Itachi had a very bad feeling. He quickly tested his theory by dropping the sword into Naruto's outstretched hands much to Hakurei's protest and moved away with a shunshin. The abandoned sword suddenly flung itself into his direction, and he was forced to catch it before it hit his cranium. Shisui gaped at the sight before he tried it himself. He threw the sword away and used shunshin to keep dodging the sword, but after a few close calls he caught the sword before it could hit where a man would feel pain the most.
"As long as you didn't put it away with intention to abandon the sword, they won't follow you stubbornly… "Naruto informed them helpfully, "And since they recognize your chakra now, they can find you better than Inuzuka could."
"Wow." Shisui mouthed, that wasn't too bad, and at least he didn't have to worry about losing this sword. While his new katana was cool and a bit clingy, his cousin on the other hand... Itachi would have a problem with his, since the sword was almost as tall as him. Why did Itachi end up with a freaking nodachi while he got a katana? At least he was taller than both his sword and Itachi's.
"Naruto-kun." Itachi crossed his arms, "While I appreciate the sword... I can't use it."
"Because it's as tall as you?" Shisui piped in not-so-helpfully.
Itachi's left eyebrow twitched at the comment, "Among other things..." he admitted reluctantly as he caressed the sheath of his sword. "This sword... may I know who forged it?" he asked curiously. Just from its sheen alone he could assume the forger must have been very skilled.
Hakurei sighed at the query, he knew it was coming. "An old comrade of mine... Muramasa."
Shisui and Itachi went wide eyed at that, "Mu... Muramasa, that Muramasa?! Satori no Muramasa?" He was the most famous blacksmith in the history of Konoha. He was like Hashirama of the Senju clan to the blacksmiths of Konoha. Itachi and Shisui, who were frequent customers of Munechika, had heard a lot about the legendary figure, because old man Munechika on his worse days was always raving about his idol. How Muramasa had been a saintly man but his swords had been demon incarnates and so on, especially Muramasa's Shiseiten, four heavenly sky swords: his masterpieces that were rumored to have surpassed even Kiri's seven swords.
Hakurei nodded at Shisui's sputter, sighing wearily. "I can't believe this... two of Muramasa's Shiseiten chose two Uchiha brats." Itachi and Shisui blanched at that. What they held weren't just two swords forged by a legendary blacksmith, but the best he'd ever forged too?!
"Hakurei!" Naruto warned, and Hakurei hastily muttered an apology. Then he turned his attention back to the Uchiha cousins. "Never mind... just take good care of them 'kay? By the way, Itachi's nodachi is named Tenrou..."
"Tenrou..." Itachi repeated, "Heavenly wolf, Sirius... the brightest star."
Naruto turned to Shisui, "Your katana is Shibien, the north pole star... "
Shisui tilted his head to the side, "So that's why they're called Shiseiten..."
"I didn't expect it though," Naruto mused, drawing their attention from their swords to him. "For Tenrou to choose Itachi while Shibien goes to Shisui... according to the forger's journal, Tenrou is a pretty temperamental sword while Shibien is much calmer, and yet they went for their opposites... well, maybe opposites do attract..."
Itachi swallowed, "I don't think you can just give these out as replacements for standard ANBU Ninjato, Naruto-kun," Itachi pointed out, slightly dazed at the preciousness of the sword he was holding.
Naruto merely raised an eyebrow, "Why not?"
"These could be considered national treasures!" Shisui drawled in an incredulous tone. "I mean... is it really okay to give these swords just like that?! Can you give these to us?" he asked, looking at Naruto pointedly. "It's Satori no Muramasa's masterpieces!"
The blond looked thoroughly confused, "Eh, why can't I?"
Hakurei's eyes lit up in realization, "Oh I see your concern..." he mused. "I almost forgot that in the shinobi world... a title can become so well known that a person's real name is sometimes forgotten." He shook his head in amusement. "I'm pretty sure there are shinobi who've forgotten that the Sandaime was born as Sarutobi Hiruzen and not the Professor or God of Shinobi. Or that Satori no Muramasa's real name is... Namikaze Muramasa."
Itachi blinked as he recalled the photo of an old man Munechika had proudly showed him before, a man around his father's age, fair skinned, blond with cerulean blue eyes, and long, wavy hair that gave him an effeminate look. He had been wondering why the man looked familiar when he'd seen the photo, but it was no wonder since that man looked exactly like Namikaze Minato save for the shape of his eyes, which had a rounder edge than the Yondaime's. Muramasa was the Yondaime's father, which meant, he was Naruto's grandfather!
"Oh!" Shisui had come to the same conclusion it seemed. Then the curly haired Uchiha laughed out loud, then snapped. "They're your freaking family heirloom, Chibiiiii!"
Naruto blinked innocently at that before nodding sagely at that, "I guess they are... so? They're legitimately mine to give, aren't they? And if they chose you to be their master, they're yours to wield... I'd rather my family's legacy be in use than just sitting here and collecting dust in this old, abandoned chamber."
The Uchihas stiffened at that, realizing why Naruto was so eager to hand down the swords to them. He didn't want his grandfather's legacy to rust in the depth of the tower as a legend soon to be forgotten. For Naruto, the legacy of his family was important and he would go to great lengths to preserve it. Naruto sincerely wanted to give them the swords, not just out of friendship and obligation, but also because he believed they deserved Tenrou and Shibien, that they could wield the legend so it wouldn't die out and be buried under the dust of history.
"Once the news gets out this will be a bitch," Shisui pointed out grimly as he fastened the belt carrying Shibien on his back.
Naruto chuckled softly at that, "I'm well aware of that... they already know The Tower and the Uchiha clan are in some sort of alliance, so don't worry... I know what I'm doing."
"Naruto-sama..."
The blond smiled at the elder, "It's fine... if anything I think it will work in our favor."
Itachi sighed, "I wonder what scheme you're cooking up in your mind now..." he wondered out loud.
Naruto faked a hurt look at that statement, "Me? Scheming? Oh my, Itachi... do you think so lowly of me?" He shook his head, "While I did intend to give you one of my grandfather's swords, I had no idea which would choose you... I did have faith one of them would choose you, though for you to get the best of the best is even better!"
"I still don't see how legitimate it is to hand these legendary swords over to us," Itachi stated firmly. "I mean... while you're the heir, your status in our village..." he trailed off hesitantly.
Naruto waved his concern off, "You don't have to worry about that, since in official paperwork these swords belong to the tower unless Muramasa's heir, or his will, claim otherwise."
Hakurei sighed wearily, "Actually, about his will. As I informed Naruto-sama prior to your visit... Muramasa did leave a will concerning a debt and owing a pair of swords to the Uchiha clan..." he said as he pulled out an old looking scroll tied with a yellow string. "Pass this to your father. Apparently, the Uchiha Muramasa was indebted to passed away a long time ago, so I guess your father is the right person to read it."
The Uchiha heir accepted the scroll hesitantly, "Thank you, Hakurei-dono."
Hakurei nodded sagely, "While I haven't read the contents, I have a pretty good guess about it says..."
"By the way, you never elaborated on what kind of debt my grandfather owed the Uchiha clan," Naruto piped in. "From what you've told me, Muramasa-jiisan doesn't sound like the type who would leave such a massive debt uncovered."
"My old friend wouldn't... he's a man of his words, but well... he's also gotten into the strangest situations more often than not. A trouble magnet..." He shook his head in amusement,
Itachi and Shisui rolled their eyes at Naruto. "I guess that's hereditary," Shisui muttered.
The younger Uchiha recalled his mother had said the same thing about Naruto's mother after one of Kushina's disastrous visits to the Uchiha manor. "What an amazing thing, genetics that is..."
Naruto rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah..."
Uchiha Compound
Fugaku wasn't sure if he should compliment Minato's son or smack the boy upside the head for the latest stunt he'd pulled. His eldest son had come home in a daze with a five shaku long nodachi and a scroll addressed to him, his nephew not far behind with a katana on his back. When he'd read the scroll, Fugaku had felt the beginnings of a throbbing headache coming on. Mikoto had looked worried, but it hadn't stopped her from stealing a couple of glances at Itachi's and Shisui's new swords. Mikoto had been a kenjutsu master before she'd retired after all, so it must've been hard to resist looking at the famous swords of Muramasa.
Fugaku didn't know much about his uncle, but he did remember that Muramasa was regarded as a weirdo even by shinobi standards. Minato's mother died when he was two years old, and people said Murasama became a bit weird in the head afterward. Fugaku didn't really understand what was so weird about Muramasa as, at the time, he was nine when he started training with his four-year-old second cousin. Although as Fugaku grew up, he started to realize his uncle was an eccentric man. Muramasa was nocturnal, and it was a wonder how Minato didn't end up the same. He let his son play with real swords, and Fugaku was almost killed by Minato at the tender age of ten. Muramasa spoke to his bird, cat and dog like he could understand them. With such an impressive list of oddities that could book him a room in a mental ward, it was a wonder how that man could raise a genius like Minato for fifteen years before dying of a terminal illness.
This scroll was undoubtedly his uncle's. It was a will concerning an unpaid debt of Muramasa's, not to the Uchiha clan exactly, but to Muramasa wife's twin older brothers. Apparently, Muramasa had had a hard time convincing Uchiha Mayumi's older brothers to bless their marriage, which was understandable since Muramasa was of Senju line and Mayumi was their only baby sister. Their parents had been long dead, so the twins were very protective of Mayumi. Muramasa promised Mayumi's brother that he would forge the best pair of swords in the elemental countries for them as a proof of his worth for Mayumi's hand. Unfortunately, the twins fell in the second war before Muramasa finished the promised swords, and in the end, Muramasa married Mayumi with the blessing her twin brothers left in their will.
In some ways, you could say there was no debt that needed to be paid, especially since the brothers Muramasa was indebted to were long dead before the he finished the swords. But officially, Muramasa had left a will stating the debt still existed, and he wanted his descendant to pass it on. This contract was so like his uncle, Fugaku was sure he'd made it so he could rest peacefully in the afterlife. Muramasa must've expected Minato to take two random swords from his old shelves and hand them over to the Uchiha clan, even though he could have done it himself when he was alive. Regardless of the possibility that the existence of the scroll was done on a whim, it worked in their favor because it was never specified which swords had to be given as payment. Just a pair of swords to the Uchiha clan, end of discussion.
No one could protest Itachi's and Shisui's ownership of the two legendary swords.
But there must've be some sort of ploy behind this. That old man Hakurei was Muramasa's best friend, and he would have rather handed over his own chopped hand than give up Muramasa's best swords. "Itachi... Shisui, did Hakurei-dono give these swords to you with no underhanded intention?"
Itachi shook his head in negative, "No father, Hakurei-dono wouldn't have given us these swords 'if' he'd had any say about it."
Shisui nodded in agreement, "Eh... it was Naruto."
Of course. He wondered if Naruto was getting too confident after the latest stunt he pulled, thinking he could get away with another one. But then again, he got away with this one too. "Warn him to not keep playing with fire, he is too young for..."
Itachi, in a rare moment, cut his father off, "I believe you misunderstand him, Tou-san..."
Fugaku frowned, "Explain."
He nodded, "While what Naruto did could be considered careless and too brave, he didn't do it because he could." Itachi stated firmly, "But because he had to... when Naruto-kun suggested that surveillance system to gain our clan's cooperation, he did it because it would help both the tower and our clan. Even this time I believe he didn't do it on whim... it's for our alliance."
"He intends to gain more favor from us?" Fugaku inquired, not that he minded if that was what Naruto wanted. Minato was a kind and gentle Hokage, but he was a shrewd politician as well. If his son inherited that from Minato, Fugaku couldn't see that as anything but a blessing.
Itachi shook his head, "Our alliance is seen as weak, merely to show a united front: a temporary alliance... But with these gifts... it will be seen as a show of good will for a long time partnership from the tower."
"And possession of two of Muramasa's shiseiten will raise our standing in the eyes of Konoha..." Fugaku concluded in a solemn tone. "An admirable move... I will write a formal letter to thank that boy, though I will address it to Hakurei..." The clan head mused.
Itachi stiffened, he always disliked it when his father talked as if the village and the Uchiha clan were separate entities. "Yes..." Though he couldn't refute it when both sides distanced themselves. He vowed that one way or another, he'd change their clan, and one day they would see they were a part of Konoha. Naruto had given him time to stall the worst, but he had no delusions that decades of hatred his clan had for their forced isolation could be erased so easily. The tower had given the Uchiha clan a breather from the role as a wounded animal Konoha had cornered. There was no telling how long that allusion would last however...
Naruto's scroll of seal~
(1) Iwazaru no Fuuin
derived from the three wise monkeys (Japanese: 三猿, san'en or sanzaru, or 三匹の猿, sanbiki no saru, literally "three monkeys"), sometimes called the three mystic apes, are a pictorial maxim. Together they embody the proverbial principle to "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". The three monkeys are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil.
In case my dear reader forget, this is the cursed seal that prevent ROOT member from talking about Danzo to outsider.
(2) Hikou no Fuuin
Naruto's newest masterpiece, a complex A rank seal that incorporate elemental seal and body enhancement seal. The seal array resemble a wavy vine, and placed in Naruto's legs. When used it affected user's body mass and created small gust of wind surrounding user body and float the user to certain extend. It also gave assist the user to gather chakra on the feet which were the hardest part of body to gather chakra, which allowed Naruto to jump extremely high and other properties of the seal make his aerial time longer than normal, that he looked like he was almost flying. While this seal was strong it was very hard to control and one wrong move could cripple the user.
(3) Gogyō no Juujika-Fuuin
Shape manipulation seal that ranked as C rank after upgraded from specialized on one element to five elements. This seal is derived from Katon: Housenka no Jutsu and Futon: Shinkuujin, which basic principle is coating weapon with elemental chakra. The chakra this seal shaped in disk or cross shaped in shuriken.
Basically Naruto's fighting style is combination of Kuroko's Tetsuya phantom play + Aomine's agility + Kagami's jumping power for those who read Kuroko no Basket. This fighting style works better for those with doujutsu but as long as the opponent is not blind they're going to have a hard time. When I develop it I think of something that fit unpredictable and free spirited nature of Naruto but in the same time 'refined and subtle' which differ this Naruto with canon Naruto.
Tenrou and Shibien are pretty famous sword, at least I see Shibien in a lot of games... but they're based on what appeared in Samurai Deeper Kyo.
There's three characters I wrote in this chapter as politician... one is Sandaime, in the latest chapter Hiruzen himself admitted he did a lot of mistake and he is too soft to deal with Konoha's darkness which is why he 'let' Danzo to handle it. I am not biased against Sandaime, he is a badass old man and I acknowledge that. However he had a lot of shortcoming in his reign, Naruto's suffering, Hyuuga incident and Uchiha massacre for example. Then again this old man probably is too tired and weary, seriously... he should have tried looking for someone else to be Godaime the moment Minato passed away not taking the hat again. As for hiding Naruto's heritage, I can already imagine Sandaime at first has no intention to reveal his jinchuuriki status. However words get around and instead of trying to bullshit his way like a ninja should do he announce it to adults and make it S rank secret. Then again who knows what circumstances forced him to do so but it's still a foolish mistake.
Danzo... OH Danzo... My opinion of him is basically what Naruto said, the old man lost it. While he did everything he could for Konoha's interest at one point he seems to go nutz, the boundary between Konoha's interest and his is blurring and in the end for the sake of Konoha he had to be the Hokage mindset. As you can see what happened to Kabuto and his mother, Nagato and Akatsuki. Good job Danzo, you might as well destroy Konoha yourselves... but probably that what he wants, remake Konoha.
Fugaku, in Itachi's flashback is revealed as 'not completely a jerk' father. He cares of his sons, but he is harsh and demands the best of the best from them. Then again they have to be, considering their status as heir of Uchiha clan especially with their decline in power. I try to take realistic approach in his character, he cares for his family and Naruto but before he is a father and uncle he is a clan head. He has duty to the clan. His clan members are already as peeved as it is with their decline in power, in canon they outright voiced this when Fugaku tried to cover up Itachi's absence. The coup from what I see is the will of the clan, not necessarily Fugaku's... In case majority of his clan voted for coup Fugaku as clan head could only go along, regardless of his opinion. Clan head is not dictator position in case anyone forgot... Hiashi is a testament of that, his clan or rather their elders decided to sacrifice Hizashi not him. SO yeah... massacre is not out of option yet.