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Burdened Soul: Uchiha SI Ch.50
🕑 Added 2025-04-14 08:09:53 +0000 UTCChapter 50
IZUNA UCHIHA
It had been rare for him to sit and dine like this during the last five years. Actually, Izuna could count such circumstances and days on his hands, given their rarity as he served his punishment for taking his revenge against Danzo Shimura.
A small part of him was irked by it, but in the end, if he had a chance to do it all again, he would not hesitate for a second to kill Danzo. When he had brought up the man’s treason, he had hoped that Minato-san would do the right thing, yet in the end, even the infamous Yellow Flash was a hostage to politics and pragmatism.
And so, the second he felt confident enough to kill the bastard all by himself while causing the least amount of damage to the village, Izuna took his chance. And the entire world was better for it.
In his time away, his family had changed a lot as Sasuke grew up into a toddler. Itachi had changed as well, for Izuna had made it a part of his negotiations with his father and Minato-san that his younger brother be spared from the savagery of warfare.
And the relative peace had done him good, as Itachi began to work under their father, soaking up all he could.
“So, are you back for good now?” his mother asked him, breaking the silence as Izuna shrugged.
“No idea,” he answered truthfully, and her expression told him quickly that she did not like that.
“You will be going back, big brother. But you just came back,” Sasuke cut in from the side, pouting as Izuna smiled at his youngest brother as he ruffled his hair.
“Eventually, but I will be home for at least a month. And we will be spending a lot of that time together. Yet it seemed as if his words were not enough.
“A month?” Sasuke pouted, and before he could say anything, their father cut in.
“Your brother is one of the village’s strongest shinobi. He must do his part in helping the village,” he spoke a bit harshly, as Sasuke tensed up, as his fists balled up.
“Don’t worry too much. With the war being over, I will be spending a lot of time back home,” or at least that was his hope. However, in the ninja world, one could never be entirely sure.
“Then can you help me practise, Katon ninjutsu. Itachi-nii says that you are even better than him and father in that,” Sasuke asked with zeal, and before he could agree, his father cut in.
“Your brother has just returned today. Let him rest,” but as he saw the dejected look on his youngest child, Fugaku Uchiha added slowly.
“I am sure that he will be able to help you with it tomorrow,” and Sasuke’s eyes lit up at that as Izuna gave him a nod.
“Yes, we will do it tomorrow. We will even see if you can use my secret technique,” they said, and so they made some small talk as Izuna loosened up. And the years had been good to him.
It was as if killing Danzo had freed him from his guilt, rage, and anger. And though he might never become the most jolly person, he had learned to live a little.
After some time, both Itachi and Sasuke retired, leaving him alone with his parents.
“So, what do you wish to discuss?” he asked, for they would not stop him like this for no reason.
“Is it really necessary to do this today?” he heard his mother whisper to his father, who simply nodded.
“We are just going to talk, and the sooner we do this, the better,” he said, and Izuna had an idea about what they wished to discuss with him. After all, he was not entirely oblivious to the workings of the village and clan.
“Is this about replacing me as heir?” and the silence that came with those words was answer enough as he took a sip of his tea.
“Yes and no,” his father began, as he sighed and the half a decade had aged Fugaku Uchiha and the man had begun to look at the future, as a clan leader should.
“You are an exemplary shinobi. None in the village can argue against that, but you are also the Head of the Fifth Divison. And by the rules and regulations, you cannot head both the Medical Corps and the Police Force at once,” and that was where the trouble began.
“By tradition, the Uchiha clan Head has always headed the Police Force. And I know that neither you nor the village want you to step away from the Fifth Divison,” and that was for a very good reason, as Izuna had done what Tsunade Senju had always hoped to do.
He had made Iryo-ninjutsu a part of the genin curriculum, and now, each genin team was to have one member proficient in basic iryo-ninjutsu according to the rules.
“And so are at the cross-roads. We must break with traditions, and the choice about which one we should break with is on you,” and the options were simple, and so was his decision.
“Does Itachi get a say in this?” he asked.
“Your brother has shown great aptitude for the Police Work. He will do just fine,” and though embarrassed, he saw his mother hesitate for a second before she spoke up.
“It would be good to have at least one close to home with you being away all the time,” and that was no fault of his.
“Do what you must, I have never really cared for the heirship or the Police Force.” he gave them the go-ahead as he made to stand up. However, it seemed as if they were not yet done with him.
“Now that we are here, there is one more thing that I need to talk you about,” and this time it was his mother who spoke up, much to his surprise, as Izuna plopped down once more.
“What is it?” he asked, taking another sip of his tea, as his mother smiled at him.
“It is about your marriage...”
PHISS!
And the tea slipped out of his mouth as he began to cough.
“WHAT?” he asked, surprised at her words as she nodded.
“Your marriage. You are both old and accomplished enough to settle down. There have been several inquiries about a possible ma...” and he did not let her continue as he shook his head.
“No. No. No,” he shook his head as he stopped her quickly.
“The heirship is one thing, but this is my decision. One I will make on my own,” he drew the line, as her mother raised a brow.
“Is that so?” she asked, in a somewhat scandalized tone, as his father refused to come to his aide.
“Yes,” he replied as she began to nod.
“Then perhaps there is some credence to the rumors I have heard,” he said, and a tremble passed over him as he heard those words.
“What rumors?” he asked, feigning innocence.
“Rumors about you and a certain refugee kunoichi...”
0000
KUSHINA UZUMAKI
It was a rarity for Minato to be home for dinner, given just how busy he had been with the war. But now, as the war was reaching its conclusion, he had begun to come home to eat dinner with her and Naruto, much to their son’s joy.
Though often, he brought back some work as well, much like today, as he sat on the table with a few files splattered across it. Over the years, this apartment had become a home to her, it was the place where she had found herself a new family—a new home.
She put the cup of tea on the table as Minato looked up and gave her a smile.
“Thank you,” he said as she sat down beside him and began to look over the documents.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Nothing much,” he replied as his gaze returned to the documents once more.
“Just the details about the peace treaty and a letter from the Kazekage,” and she frowned at the latter part.
“Kazekage?” she confirmed, and he nodded as he pushed one of the documents toward her.
“Sunagakure is holding Chunin exams in a month and a half. They have invited all the villages to send their participants, and he writes that Iwa and Kumo have already agreed to the offer,” and that was a surprise.
“So, they have begun showing their fangs,” and it seemed Iwa and Kumo were done licking their wounds and were now trying to reclaim their power in the world.
Sending their teams to Suna, an enemy village, was them projecting power. Suna was their ally, so they could not abandon them.
“So we must answer,” she added as Minato nodded.
“We must, but I do not want to send too many teams just to fill up the numbers. No, I want to send an elite team, one that will be able to showcase our strength all by itself.” The Chunin exams could be rather deadly, and Minato wished to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
After all, unlike Iwa and Kumo, Konoha had been fighting a war for five years; they did not have blood to spare.
“Do you have a team in mind?” she asked, and his lips thinned as he shook his head.
“Not at all. We have a few good teams, but none of them have the ability to make the kind of statement I want,” and she skimmed through the list of teams, and indeed the profiles were all good, better than average.
But Minato was not looking for average. He was looking for a ringer. Someone who belonged in the same category as himself and Izuna-kun.
“Most of them are good for fifteen-year-olds,” she said, and Minato nodded.
“Maybe, but I am not looking for good.” She went over to the next page, and it contained all the special teams and apprentices. Given that the format required a three-man cell, they could not send them.
Or, they could try something.
“These two fit the bill,” she said, pointing towards the faces of the two kunoichis who were apprentices under Orochimaru-sama.
“Saiko Uchiha and Anko Mitarashi,” and they were both relatively well-off.
“They are good, but they are a two-man cell, and the exam is designed for a three-man cell. And given their personalities and quirks, I do not think simply adding any genin would work,” and that may be true.
“But then don’t add a simple genin,” she suggested, as Mianto finally put down his file and turned all his attention towards her.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“They are both good, so you need to put in a genin beside them that is equally good if not better,” and Minato scoffed.
“Who is better than them?” he asked, and she raised a brow, prompting him to think for himself.
“Itachi-kun,” she finally gave in as his eyes widened.
“Indeed, I forgot that he was still a genin,” though that was all due to his unique situation. However, all of them knew that the boy was far more powerful than any genin or even chunin within the village.
“Saiko knows him as well, and so the team will bond rather easily.” She saw his mind racing as Minato rubbed his chin.
“It could work, but there is a problem,” he whispered.
“What?”
“I am not comfortable sending out Orochimaru-sama,” and she had an idea why.
Years ago, when Minato had finally gotten his hands on the file pertaining to Danzo Shimura’s true crimes, he had uncovered some rather unsavory things about the Snake-sanin.
In the end, the golden-eyed sanin had blamed it all on Sandaime and his advisors, but she knew that Minato suspected it all to be ruse. But in the end, the man was a valuable shinobi, and it was not in their best interests to pish him away.
“You will need to appoint a new jounin sensei then. One who would lead not only this team but act as a Village representative as well.” There were a few shinobi who would fit that profile.
“I think I might have an idea, but I will need to talk to him first,” he whispered before he looked up.
“Thank you. You have been a great help,” he spoke as he held her hands, and she smiled.
“So, now that you are done. Perhaps it is time for you to rest,” she suggested, and he glanced at the clock as he nodded.
“Yes, I will deal with the rest in the morning....”
0000
And as the night fell, Izuna found himself entering one of the most secure and secretive facilities within the village. A special compound which had once been the HQ of the now disbanded and disgraced, Foundation.
It was a space deep underground, one that was guarded by the most complex Fuinjutsu arrays both him and Minato-san could develop. A lone ANBU stood guard outside the cubical structure, and gave a bow as Izuna put his hand on the seal, unlocking it.
The space shifted and a door appeared in front of him, as Izuna walked into a special cell, or more specifically a tailor-made cell, which also functioned as both a research lab and a medical room.
It was well lit, with a papers and other equipment strewn across the room, yet the biggest secret of it was the body of a shinobi floating in the centre of the room, with various tubes and sensors attached to his body.
One half of his body was much like his own, having Uchiha cells, and would have died and disintegrated long ago, if not for the other half. The half which still lived and continued to push him beyond the norm.
“I am afraid I have failed Obito,” Izuna began softly, for all this had been set up and started with one singular purpose.
To save Rin, and the only idea they had involved the usage of Hashirama cells. Yet their biology was simply so complex that a breakthrough had evaded them even in in half a decade.
“She has run out of time....”
0000
Comments
Radiant Tiefling
Thank you for the chapter.
Almaz Zakytkazy
Thanks for the chapter!
