(Early Access) Arc 2 Chapter 6 Part 3- Age: 10.01, Year: 14.01

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"Shimura-kun," Sasuke's voice washed through the room as he walked in, his steps silent, his face somewhat neutral if not for the hint of curiosity on it. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?" He questioned as he slowly sat down on the other side of the tatami mat, the tea on the table between us covering most of my view of him.

The Uchiha's head family home was arguably the simplest of them surprisingly. The man had settled for a simple traditional theme in the small house- Not that they couldn't afford it, most of the houses in the Uchiha compound were actually large when compared to the rest of the village, it was just the head himself who'd opted to have less room.

If I had to guess, this room itself was arguably the most decorated room in the man's entire home.

I wasn't entirely sure why he hadn't opted for something that actually showed his status as the head of the second leading clan in the village- The only reason they weren't first was entirely because the Senju were currently in charge. They had a lot more numbers in comparison to said clan, it was just a matter of the Kage hat that pushed them down.

"I got a request for you," I answered as my hands swept through the admittedly soft rug- mat. I meant mat.

The man nodded at that with a slight hum as he reached for the tea set and poured himself a cup, a single eyebrow raised at me as he indicated it ever so slightly.

"Not unless you secretly filled that with sake," I deadpanned.

He blinked at that as he slowly set the spout on the table. "Don't tell me you already have a drinking problem?" He questioned, evidently caught off-guard enough to break decorum.

"I dunno if I'd call it a problem for me specifically." I snorted. "'Cos if history's anything to go by, when I drink it quickly becomes the other villages problem."

"...Right." Sasuke remarked warily. "No, I am afraid there is no ulterior substance," He added on, presumably sarcastically.

"Pity that,"

"Indeed." He nodded, his aged face crinkling as he slowly took a drink from his cup. When he set it back down, he let out a relieved breath and focused on me properly. "I take it your request is in regards to the Kaguya?"

I nodded.

He hummed at that. "And, were you surprised to find out getting them into the village was arguably the easiest part of their transition?"

I smiled at that. "It's a yes or no request really, I'd rather avoid the monologue if you don't mind."

He blinked at that, surprised again before quickly taking back control of his expression. "Hm. And if I were to refuse to allow any of my clan to participate in a team with one of them, am I to expect a response from you?"

I snorted at that. "Do I look that petty to you?"

"Your history certainly speaks for itself," He remarked pointedly as he took another, faster, gulp of his tea.

I rolled my eyes at him. "No, Uchiha-sama, there won't be any retaliation."

"From you specifically, or in general?" He immediately questioned.

I gave him a long look at that. "In general, Uchiha-san."

"Losing respect for me already?" He questioned after a moment of pondering my answer. "How quick we fall,"

"In my defence, you're acting like you're afraid of a child,"

He nodded at that. "And if Kirigakure had shown that same fear of a child, they would still have their Seven Swordsmen."

Point. I had to give him that much!

"What's your answer, Uchiha." I let out a sigh. "I would like it today if at all possible- I do have some other clans to attend to."

He blinked at that. "I take it the Senju are on board?"

"It was their fuckin' idea to request this crap from you heads."

"Language, Shimura-kun."

"Answer, Uchiha-kun." I immediately responded.

He took in a longer breath at that as he appraised my expression for some reason. "And I have your word you won't retaliate if your request is refused?

"Yes," I sighed. "Sheesh, I am not the bloody devil you know?" I shook my head. "I won't hold it against you if you decide you don't want to risk a team-up with a clan who has a history like theirs, I am just doing what I bloody can to make it easier on 'em." I waited a beat. "The Kaguya's problem was fixed by me, the only thing left is their image." I idly tapped my fingers on the rug. "And I ain't gonna hold a kunai to your throat because you can't take a child's word on it."

A look of surprise echoed out of the man at that for some reason. "...I was not referring to a threat of violence on the matter," He deadpanned.

I blinked at that, my head tilting slightly. "Whatchu mean then?"

"I was referring to whether you would go out of your way as you tend to, to help out as you did with the Inuzuka." A beat passed. "...I wasn't suggesting that you would harm..." He blinked slowly, a frown building up on his face. "Would you attack someone for refusing your requests, Shimura?"

"Depends on the someone," I shrugged.

"...I see." There was a very worried look on the man's face at that- Though oddly enough I had a feeling he was thinking about a whole different clan altogether.

I idly scratched at my chin. "Hm, if it's me helping a motherfucker that you're referring to then, yeah, I probably won't look out for your lot as much as before,"

"Meaning?" He questioned quickly.

"Well for one, if Sasani ever gets his Mangekyo, good luck figuring out how to cure his blindness."

The mood in the air rapidly changed at those words as it turned colder and far, far more nervewracking- Well for anyone else at any rate.

"...Are you suggesting you know a way to cure such a thing?" He questioned thinly.

"Not gonna question how I even know about it?" I snorted back.

"I doubt you'd tell me." He responded quickly, his eyes narrowing slightly as a hint of desperation filled into them. "Well? Can you?"

"I ain't saying I can," I rolled my eyes. "I am saying I've never really looked into it to figure out if I could," A beat passed. "Ain't never seen a Mangekyo's chakra network before you know?"

He appraised me for an uncomfortable amount of time following that, hundreds of things likely going through the man's mind at my statement.

After what felt like forever, the man finally opened his mouth again. "If you could see it, would you be able to cure it?"

"I am not promising anything, Uchiha-san. And even if I was, it'd certainly not be for this," I shook my head. "What you're asking for could break whatever balance this village has and you know it."

The expression on his face didn't really change at my words, though annoyance filtered through it towards the end. "Balance?" He questioned with a scoff. "With you in the Senju's corner, balance is a hard reality to accept,"

Ironically, that applied to the original timeline as well- and I very much doubt that Shimura was all that cracked out aside from his head.

"Though I doubt having someone like you in our corner would've changed anything I suppose," He sighed.

"Yup. Ya'll don't really give a shit if a motherfucker ain't called an Uchiha,"

He frowned heavily at that and made to object the statement for a moment before to my surprise he decided not to. "A problem I've yet to truly solve, unfortunately." His expression seemed to age for a moment at those words. "The Warring Era's scars even to this day, have yet to truly disappear."

I nodded at that slowly. "Why do you think I am batting for the Kaguya so much?"

"I suppose to have another clan at your side?"

"We're all on the same side, Uchiha-san." I pointed out. "I am certainly not the one trying to draw lines over here,"

"Neither am I," He sighed again, this time far, far more tired than before. "Bad habits are simply rather difficult to get over," He shook his head. "Here we are all surrounded by Konoha's walls and yet my predecessor felt the need to create a set of our own all the same." He waited for a beat. "A prison created with our own hands," He snorted. "If that doesn't explain everything about us, I don't know what would."

We fell into another uncomfortable silence at those words, though this one was a tad more bearable then the last- "Six months ago..." -and sure as shit didn't last as long! "You told me my son was likely to acquire a Mangekyo by the end of his first year as a Genin... given your tendencies, a lot of those around me took that for a sign of great things for my heir," I quickly frowned at that. "It made it all the more difficult to delay his... I suppose, path as a ninja-"

"Are you blaming me for that incident?" I quickly cut him off, my eyes narrowing at the aud-

"Not at all," The man quickly clarified. "That particular mission was rather out of our hands in truth,"

...How the actual fuck was it out of the hands of the head of the second leading clan in the village!?

...Had I... Had I not actually dealt with the main problem regarding that incident? Everything I'd found during that drunken walk had led me to believe it was a botched set-up that looked like a good path towards prestige- But none of the players involved should've had the power nor backing to overrule the head of a clan like the Uchiha in regards to his own son...

"What I mean to say, Shimura is that... a lot of expectations are on my son's shoulders and I fear that may have ingrained it into his head to seek out that power because you'd told him he was capable of it,"

I quickly focused back on the situation at hand, a frown still on my face. "Yeah... That's kinda the part where you step in and get him off his high horse,"

He raised an eyebrow at that. "What sort of father would rid his own child of their conviction? Of their drive?"

"The kind that wants his brat to live to old age?" I questioned, bemused.

He let out a humourless snort at that for some reason. "A nice thought to hold I suppose,"

"...How little faith do you actually have in Sasani?" I was admittedly somewhat concerned now!

"I have all the faith in the world that he'll succeed, but to live to old age is not what any of us can truly plan for,"

I tilted my head at him, confused. "Why not?"

He looked at me like the answer was obvious. "It's cowardly and unfit for an heir to the Uchiha. One must take every opportunity they have to reach for greatness and to focus on survival and safety is not a worthwhile endeavour for a clan head." He took in a deep breath. "The head must strive for the skies with the knowledge the rest will keep him standing... If he were to concern himself about anything else, the skies may escape him."

"Huh." Was all I could say to that- "I didn't realise the sharingan was inherited by birds," Okay I lied. "Shoot, and here I thought it was passed down to Indra's descendants."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "You know our history?"

I nodded at that.

"How... surprising of you,"

Was... Did he just call me an idiot or something?

After a moment of me just staring at the man with a slightly peeved look, the other let out a sigh and simply nodded at me. "You have the Uchiha's support, Shimura-san."

Huh-

Oh.

Right.

I completely forgot about that!

"Bet." I promptly reached into my pocket and pulled out a storage seal, the man's gaze bemusedly going towards it on the table as I undid it and a hilt popped out. "I made this for Sasani," I idly remarked. "It won't respond to anyone else but him- And before you ask, I stole a hair strand of his and sealed the blade to his blood through it."

"...I wasn't going..." He blinked at that. "Sasani's on a mission outside the village currently, when did you steal-"

"He's on his way back," I deadpanned. "They seemed to be in a good mood so I think that mission went well."

He tilted his head at me. "...I see." His gaze slowly went down towards the hilt itself. "I take it this is a chakra blade of sorts?"

"Blade, kunai, kinda just depends on what Sasani likes to use- It'll form itself to his specifications,"

The man's eyes widened at that.

"That's... quite the craftsmanship... I wasn't aware one could even create a weapon of that grade anymore,"

Shit, I didn't even get to the good part!

"Wasn't that hard, to be honest," I deadpanned.

Sneaking it out without Tobirama noticing was.

"I... see..." The man had a habit of seeing a lot, didn't he? "...Out of curiosity Shimura, had I refused to support-"

"I would've guilt-tripped you with it," I snorted.

He opened his mouth-

"Yeah, yeah, I know, you see!" I spoke up first and earned myself a twitch from the man, albeit one that was followed with a somewhat amused expression.

"Anywho, the blade actually has a special power engraved on it," I continued on unimpeded. "Once activated by Sasani-kun, it'll act as an extension of his Sharingan." A beat passed. "Meaning instead of having to force a fucker to look him in the eye for his Dojutsu, he can also just get the fucker to look at the blade itself.

Needless to say, he definitely didn't see that shit coming!

...

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Will be released on the 13/10/2024