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Burdened Soul: Uchiha SI Ch.51
🕑 Added 2025-04-18 12:32:09 +0000 UTCChapter 51
RIN NOHARA
Rin Nohara’s life had ended the day the Sanbi had been pulled out of her. Her life had ended then and there, yet she persisted for this long only because of the stubbornness of those surrounding her.
Despite the odds and the advice of many elders and clan heads, her sensei had refused to give up on her as he put as many resources as he could to sustain her. In the end, her survival was hailed as a miracle, brought upon by a combination of iryo-ninjutsu and fuinjutsu.
Though, it was not living. No. It was but sustenance as she found herself caged in the Uzumaki tower once more, her body breaking and falling apart by the day, as those around her helped her cling to life.
Izuna-kun, Kushina-san, Tsunade-san, and her sensei. They had all fought on for years. And yet they could do little beyond sustaining her, but now time had run out.
She could feel it running out.
Death was near, and this time, there would be no miracle to delay it anymore.
Her condition made it so that she could not step out of the Uzumaki tower. The seals in the tower suppressed both her own and the bijuu’s chakra to the absolute minimum, given that her body could tolerate any chakra at all.
So, she had spent the past five years in this prison as her sensei and Izuna-kun tried to find a way to do the impossible, yet she could tell that they had run out of time.
She could tell so from their expressions.
“How long?” she asked, her words causing Izuna-kun’s eyes to widen slightly as he sipped his tea sitting opposite to her.
“What do you mea...” he tried to pretend, but for an Uchiha, he was a bad liar.
“I know, Izuna-kun,” she cut in as he closed his mouth and put down his cup.
“I can feel it. There is no need to lie. I always knew that such a day would come,” for as good and skilled both of them were, they were not Gods.
And only a God could bring back the dead.
“We still have some time. There are a few things that I could tr...” and he was stubborn. Perhaps, all geniuses were. And he was a genius, one unlike any the village had seen.
“I am tired, Izuna-kun. Tired and broken. I have clung to life for the past five years, yet the truth is that I have not lived,” she began softly as she looked at the expansive village through the window besides her.
She had seen it all from here. The changes that had taken place in the village. The new stalls, buildings, apartments, streets and so much more.
She would often catch a glimpse of her friends and classmates moving on with their lives, building careers and families, as she remained stuck here, surviving yet not living.
“I have only survived. And I am tired of surviving.” And there was a time when she had aspired to live, aspired to have a career, a family.
But it was not her fate.
“No more tests. No more experiments. Nothing,” she spoke resolutely, not letting him cut in.
“It is time for me to go. So, tell me how long?” she asked again, as the young Uchiha boy shifted.
“A month,” he whispered, not meeting her gaze, and it was far less time than she had hoped.
“I am sorry,” he added, and she shook her head.
“Don’t be,” she said as she grabbed his hand, for she was amongst the few who knew just how much he had contributed in trying to save her life, apart from his war duties.
“I have spent the past five years surviving. For this month, I want to live,” and that was her only desire now.
“I want to eat, drink, joke, party, binge watch movies,” she told him of all her desires, not missing how he seemed to be making a mental list of it.
“I also want to meet your rather secretive purple-haired friend.” Her words seemed to shock him, and he recoiled.
“What? How?” and she chuckled, seeing him so lost for words.
And though he may have tried to keep it all a secret, ninjas were rather gossipy. And he had made the mistake of confiding his secrets in a kunoichi.
Such naivety.
“Saiko told me.” his eyes widened as he finally realised his mistake.
“I am going to kill her,” he whispered in frustration.
“You were the one who made the mistake of confiding your secret in a kunoichi,” she challenged, and he should have known. But for all his skill, and prowess, he could be naive in quite a few ways.
“So, who is this purple haired kunoichi?” she asked, wiggling her brows.
“No one,” he replied, rubbing his eyes, though she did not believe him.
There was a time when she would have been jealous of her, just as she had been of Saiko. Yet she had long come to terms with her mortality, and in a way, the permanence of her impending death had taken away all these negative emotions from her.
Izuna-kun was her friend. A dear friend and nothing more, and so she cherished him for what he was to her.
“No one. That is not what I have heard,” she rebutted as he groaned, finally giving in.
“Her name is Konan,” he finally divulged, and she knew it as well.
“The one from Ame?” she asked as Izuna-kun nodded. And that had been another major disaster, for just as Konoha had been attacked by Kiri, a civil war had broken out in Ame between two factions.
One of the factions was led by none other than Hanzo the Salamander, and the other one was a young group seeking reform, led by three young shinobi who were former students of Jiraiya-sama.
Fearing their power, Hanzo had called a parlay only to break it and attack the rival faction, acting in bad faith. Akatsuki was nearly wiped out, losing two of its three pillars.
In the end, after much trouble, Konoha had intervened and had given asylum to the remnants of the Akatsuki, who were led by their only surviving pillar, Konan the Angel.
“Yes,” he confirmed as she smiled.
“So, tell me more about her. And unlike Saiko, you can trust me to take your secrets to the grave...”
.
.
.
And so, they talked for a few hours, as he told her about Konan. And it was not much, but there was genuine interest here, if not anything more. She gave him what little advice she could, and shared her own dreams as he promised to arrange a meeting between the two of them.
Though, given that Konan-san was working under Jiraiya-sama, it was a question of whether she would be able to make it back in time.
In the end, hours passed and it was finally time for him to go, and just as he was about to leave, she found himself looking at his back, and found it rather assuring.
“Izuna-kun,” she called out after some hesitation.
“Yes,” he said, turning his head.
“I don’t want to die here. Not like this....”
0000
IZUNA UCHIHA
It took him quite a few days to settle into the new rhythm of a peaceful life. He had spent the last five years in a highly active combat zone, and even in his little respites, he was often busy working tirelessly to find a solution to Rin Nohara’s ailment.
But with the war coming to an end, he found himself back home. And he missed the stakes of war, the thrill of battle.
Despite it all, he did not miss the war, the fighting, the death. He enjoyed peace, even if it came with its own burdens.
Killing Danzo Shimura had been a split-second decision. Despite the arguments from Minato and Jiraiya-sam, Izuna could not stand to see that man suffering no consequences for his actions, and so he had taken advantage of the chaos to strike at the man.
It had come at a cost, as he was forced to lead the war efforts as his punishment, but given the choice, he would make the same choice a hundred more times. It had also strained his relationship with Minato-san for a time, but in the end, pragmatism had won, and they were able to get over this little hurdle.
“So, she knows,” began the yellow-haired leader as Izuna nodded.
“She does, and she has come to terms with it,” and he could see how this all pained him. It had been Minato-san who had pushed for all these resources and research to try and save Rin, going against the advice and recommendation of many clan elders and advisors.
After the kiri attack, many had voiced out that they should give Sanbi to a new jinchuriki, one who could wield and utilise the bijuu’s power. Still, Minato-san had persisted, defying them all, for he knew that such an act meant killing Rin.
Yet, despite his prowess and status, he could not outrun fate.
“Is there nothing else that you can do?” he asked in some desperation, and the man truly did love his students.
And as he thought about his words, a few ideas came to mind. The Rinnegan was one, and Sunagakure’s kinjutsu was another, but neither of them was feasible given their limitations.
“I am sorry, there is nothing more that I can do for her,” and Minato-san sighed as he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes.
“She has made a few requests,” and Izuna pushed forward a folded piece of paper.
“I have noted all of them down for you. There is nothing too egregious there, but at the end, she mentioned something,” and he sighed as he repeated her words.
“She does not wish to die in that prison,” he saw Minato-san’s eyes go dull at his words as he picked up the paper and began to read it. It took him a second to skim over them all before he gave him a nod.
“I might be able to design a seal that could allow her to leave the tower for an hour, but it would be her last...” and he did not need to say more, for she was like a daughter to him.
“Thank you for all you have done, Izuna-kun,” he said as Izuna shrugged.
“It was nothing. She is a dear friend,” and she was. He had known that for a time she had wanted them to be more, yet that feeling had faded quickly from her, and over the years they had become good friends.
“What about the information I gave you about Kusa?” Izuna asked, and the change was instantaneous as Mianto-san’s expression hardened.
“You were right. I had ANBU look into it, and Kusagakure is exploiting two members of the Uzumaki clan,” and that was strange.
“Have you told Kushina-san?” and he shook his head.
“Not yet. Because if I tell her, she will not wait for a second and will just rush out and demolish Kusagakure entirely,” and since Kusa was an ally of Iwa, it could spiral out of control rather easily, starting another war.
“But the treaty we signed at the end of the Third Great Ninja War was clear. Iwa, Kumo, and their allies were supposed to hand over any and all prisoners associated with Konoha and its clans without any restrictions,” and this gave them a clear legal standing in the matter.
“Indeed, and I have written to Kusa’s leader, reminding him of this very treaty. I have yet to get a response,” and that was expected. The presence of the Uzumaki mother and daughter in Kusa was a very well-guarded secret, and even he had only found out about this because he had specifically searched for it.
Despite being their ally, he doubted that even Iwa knew about it.
“So, what are we to do?” he asked, and Minato-san bit his lip.
“A part of me wants to teleport to Kusa and teach them what it means to go against Konoga, but I am the Hokage, and I must temper my hand in these moments.” but that did not mean he was going to let this go.
A kage was a leader, and given Konoha’s standing, their kage could not and should not be seen as a vengeful, cold-blooded killer, even though Minato Namikaze was that.
A Hokage must maintain an image of sagacity and judiciousness.
On the other hand, Izuna had no need to maintain such an image.
He was already famous as a cold-blooded monster, his fame and reputation had only gotten worse after the war with Kiri, earning him a new moniker.
The Seven-Headed Demon.
“So, you want me to go,” he asked, as Minato-san nodded.
“Yes, though you will not be going alone,” and that was a surprise. Minato-san must know that he did not like to work with people, for most of them could not keep up with him and ended up being liabilities.
“You do know that I work best alon...”
“Konan,” he cut in, not letting him finish. he saw the blonde man smirk as he groaned internally.
“She will be returning to the village in a few days. She will accompany you in the mission,” and of the few shinobi who could keep up with him, the Angel of Death was one of them.
They had worked together on several missions during the war, because after Konoha had offered the Akatsuki vestiges asylum, many in the village remained concerned about their loyalty.
And so, to both test the Akatsuki members and assuage the worries of the village elders, the Akatsuki members were all put under his command along the Kiri front lines for some time.
“Just how gossipy are shinobi?” he complained as Minato-san chuckled.
“You have no idea,” and he was beginning to realise that.
“Still, I don’t think she will hold you back,” and he shook his head, having already seen her capabilities.
“No, she will do just fine,” and Minato-san smiled.
“She will do more than fine,” and Izuna rolled his eyes as he got up from his seat.
“I will call on you when she returns,” and Izuna nodded.
“Ok. I will make the preparations,” and after a small debrief he walked out of the Hokage office and began to stroll through the city.
The meeting had taken more time than he had expected, and so as he headed home, he found two grumpy boys arguing with one another as they shouted at one another.
“We should go and search for him!” screamed the little blonde kid as Sasuke put down his leg and huffed.
“Izuna-nii was clear that we should wait for him here, and we will do just that,” he argued as Naruto made a face, and they had both grown up quite a bit, and the blonde was just as boisterous a bundle of energy as his mother had been.
“We could prank him, maybe bomb him with glitte...” and it made him smile seeing their innocence, and so he silently teleported behind them, and whispered slowly.
“Hi, Naruto,” and the blonde stopped as Sasuke’s head snapped towards him.
“AHHHH!” Naruto screamed, jumping away, as Izuna gave him a smile.
“Onii-san, why are you late?” Sasuke greeted him, his sour mood improving an instant as he saw him.
Izuna’s eyes remained focused on Naruto, who rubbed his head before pointing his finger.
“Yes. What he said! Why are you late? You said that you would train us, but you are an hour late,” and indeed, the meeting had run a bit long.
“Well, what can I say? I just got lost on the road to life.” his answer flabbergasted them both, and Naruto scrunched up his nose.
“What?” and he smiled, seeing his face as he added.
“Now, I heard someone here mention something about glitter and pranks,” and immediately Naruto paled, as Izuna continued.
“What do you have to say about that, Naruto-kun....”
0000
Miles away a kunoichi walked through a hollow cave deep underground, and found it odd and ominous as she looked at the shape of it all. Along one side of the wall, was a great carving, at the centre of which was a massive hollowed out structure.
“Could this be it?” she asked, her entire body covered by a black cloak except for her face, which had short purple hair and thin, lean eyes with purple markings around them.
“I think so,” came a voice from behind as a massive white-haired shinobi stepped out of the shadows, his hand on his chin, and examined the cave all around with a critical eye.
“But it’s empty,” the purple-haired kuncoihi challenged, as Jiraiya the Sanin stepped forward and began to examine the massive hollow in the wall.
“Yes, and that just means that we are too late,” and a thousand question swirled in his mind, as he continued to examine the cave.
“We will need to send back a report,” the kunoichi with a flower adorning her hair suggested.
“Yes, about that,” the Sanin turned to face his former student.
“Why don’t you go and make that in-person report,” he suggested, smiling at her as Konan frowned.
“Why?” she asked, as the older man gave her a wild smile.
“Nothing. I just heard that Konoha has made peace with Kiri, and you and I both know what that means.” Her expression did not shift even as the man began to laugh.
“You have been out here for quite some time. So, why don’t you go back and take it easy for a while? I will manage things on my own....”
0000
Comments
Beta117
I don’t think Karin and her mother are going to appreciate being brought to the village specifically to be the three tail host. It’s just trading one village using them for another. It’s just another prison.
Almaz Zakytkazy
Thanks fpr the chapter!
Radiant Tiefling
Thank you for the chapter.
