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Burdened Soul: Uchiha SI Ch.63
🕑 Added 2025-05-30 16:57:10 +0000 UTCChapter 63
“Do you understand the severity of Madara being alive?” questioned Tsunade Senju, still shaken by the revelation that the man who was considered her grandfather’s equal was still alive.
“I do,” replied Minato emphatically.
“I have read the same diaries as you, Tsunade-sama,” he reminded her, as they walked towards the Uzumaki tower.
“There was a reason that Madara Uchiha was so feared,” she whispered, remembering the tales her grandmother would tell her at night.
“If he truly is alive and hungry for revenge, then this is an emergency,” she argued, and Minato sighed.
“We cannot create panic within the village, and over the years, I have been making preparations just to counter him—slowly but methodically,” he retorted, eyeing the older woman.
“Why else do you think Jiraiya-sensei has not returned to the village in years?” and that seemed to stem some of the blonde Iryo-nin’s panic.
“Jiraiya has been searching for him,” she realised as the Yondaime Hokage nodded.
“Yes,” he revealed, disclosing some of his other plans.
“And he has not been doing so all by himself. The Foundation, when it was unravelled, had quite a number of assets who had no desire to enter the regular shinobi forces,” and there was no need to explain what the Foundation was to her.
“Jiraiya-sama has taken over these assets, all of whom have been trying to locate Madara Uchiha,” he clarified as they reached the Uzumaki tower.
“And that is but one of the many steps I have taken over the years,” he assured her, for while he could not take overt action against a hidden enemy, Minato knew that if Konoha had a chance to fight against Madara, they would need to prepare extensively.
“Even now, you are about to witness another one of the steps that I have taken,” he said, making her frown.
“Show me then,” she said, and he nodded as he entered the tower. he found his student sitting there by the window, staring out at the village.
“Sensei,” she greeted him, and though she may try to seem cheerful and happy, her pale face and thin, lean limbs told a different story.
“Rin,” he greeted as the girl came to hug him, and though they shared no blood, she was like a child to him. And so after some initial greetings, they settled down as he got to the reason for their visit.
“You want to talk to him?” Rin asked, and he nodded as the blonde iryo-nin frowned at their wording.
“Yes, the thing is that Orochimaru-sama and Tsunade-sama have found a solution,” and her eyes widened at his words.
“But for it to work, I must remove the Sanbi’s seal,” for the two of them planned to remove all the chakra circulating within her body, and then use Hashirama cells to repair her entire chakra network.
It was a very radical and unorthodox technique, for stopping one’s chakra was synonymous with killing them, not unless there was another source of chakra present inside them to sustain them while the original chakra network was being rebuilt.
And that second chakra source in her case would have to be the Sanbi, but if it were to rampage while they were trying to rework her entire body. It would kill her then and there, and the Sanbi would be free.
Her eyes dimmed at his words, the joy vanished, though not entirely.
“Do you think he will agree?” he asked, and he could see Tsunade-sama’s skeptical gaze on his back, yet he knew that she would only believe him once she had seen it all for herself.
“Because if the Sanbi rampages and tries to break out of you during the procedure, it would result in your immediate death,” and her lips thinned as she looked at the table.
“I do not know,” she said.
“Then let us talk to the Sanbi,” and this time, Tsunade-sama could no longer hold herself back.
“Talk to a bijuu?” she asked, and he nodded as he glanced back at her.
“Yes,” Minato answered, and he had been just as surprised her when Izuna had first made the suggestion.
“Your grandfather was right about many things, but he was wrong about the Bijuu. The tailed beasts are not mindless concentrations of chakra driven by hate and rage. No, they are ancient, sentient beings with will and personality of their own,” and her eyes widened.
“I don’t believe you,” and he had been skeptical as well, but in the end, Izuna had been right again.
“Soon enough, you will see for yourself,” he said and turned towards Rin once more, who nodded.
“He has agreed to talk with you. Although he wants to learn more about the procedure you are attempting,” and he nodded as she extended her hand.
“Tsunade-sama,” he said, offering her his hand. The woman eyed him for a second, but nonetheless, she thrust her hand into his. As he grabbed Rin’s hand, they were instantly inside her mindscape.
The place had changed much since the last time he had been here, and unlike the dreary prison that it was before, Rin’s mindscape was now a peaceful shore marred by iron bars, jutting from the sand like the ribs of an ancient whale.
“What the?” Lady Tsunade gasped as the Sanbi’s eyes narrowed onto them.
“So, you say you have found a way to save Rin-chan and need my help,” and Tsunade-sama was taken aback, unlike himself, who had gotten quite used to it.
“Yes, we have found a way…” and so they talked, discussing the details and more as the Bijuu inquired. In the end, it was time for him to give his answer.
“I will help you, but I have a condition of my own...”
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SAIKO UCHIHA
After the announcement of the results, the teams that had passed the examination were gathered together once more, and she did not miss how the crowd seemed to have been thinned out. The number of genin now present was less than half that had participated in the first test.
She could count maybe ten or only twenty teams, and if they were halved once more. The number of teams that would make it to the final round would only be around four or maybe five.
“You do know that you did not need to reject the gift,” she added to Itachi, and he had told her how he had rejected the Kazekage’s offer of skipping the second test, and though she was confident that their team would pull through.
In the end, he had refused the offer, and now he was here with them once more.
“We are a team,” he replied, looking at her as they waited for the last member of their group to show up.
“Plus, what would you guys have done without me?” and she punched his arm, at that, as she shook her head.
“Don’t be cheeky,” she said, though a part of her was secretly glad to have him there. Although she was strong, she was not blind to the malicious gazes aimed at them. Konoha had very few friends in this exam.
The team from Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri was eyeing them with barely concealed hatred, and she was sure that, given the chance, they would not hesitate to kill them. Therefore, if the second test involved any fighting, it would have been quite troublesome for her and Anko if Itachi was not with them.
“Hey!” and Anko finally joined them as the students from the third building, joined them for the exam.
“Itachi-kun, Saik...” but before her friend could say anything, Saiko was up and had punched her in the head.
“What the hell were you thinking, leaving the paper empty?” she screamed as Anko winced and rubbed her head.
“OUCH! Saiko!” she complained, but she was having none of it.
“Do you have any idea what would have happened if I had not guessed that your lazy ass would not solve a single question,” and as soon as she had realised that the first test was theoretical, and allowed one to laze off, resting on their teammate’s laurels, she knew in an instant that Anko was going to flunk it.
“But you know I am bad at all this theory stuff,” Anko pleaded, and she was about to lash out when Itachi held her back.
“I think that is enough, Saiko-san,” he pleaded nervously as he slowly scanned the crowd alongside Saiko-san, taking note of all the teams and profiling them as much as he could.
“The second test is about to begin,” and she sighed as she held herself back.
“Moreover, the important thing is that we were able to pass the exam,” and indeed that was the most important thing.
“Tch! I am sure that sensei will give you an earful as soon as we get out of here,” she warned Anko, who paled at her words.
“Would you please tell her that this was our strategy?” Anko, pleaded worryingly as she thought of their sensei.
“Yes, she will agree if we tell her that this was our strategy,” but Saiko-san did not reply as Anko continued to plead, as Itachi seemed to scan the crowd.
“It seems like one of our teams failed the exam,” and indeed, she had not seen Takeru Uchiha or that Hyuga boy, which meant only one thing, that their team had failed the exam.
“Well, there are still two of us,” she added, waving to Kurenai-chan and her team, who waved back as they all waited for the second exam announcement. And both Kiri and Iwa also had only one team in the finals, Kumo had two, and the rest all belonged to Suna and a few smaller villages.
“Well, we can...” but before she could continue, smoke erupted from the centre of the ground, as three people appeared in the center of the Hall.
The two seemed to be jounin and in the centre was a seemingly old harmless woman, but she knew better.
“It’s her, isn’t it?” she whispered as Itachi nodded.
“Yes, that is one of the ‘Gokyudo’, the Lady Chiyo,” and she was perhaps one of the most instrumental figures in Suna, being one of the pioneers of the puppetry techniques native to the village in question.
“Congratulations on passing the first exam, but this is no time to enjoy, for the second exam is set to begin right now....”
.
.
.
And for this exam, the teams were not divided, and it seemed to be a group test. The older woman stayed back as one of the jounins besides her explained the exam.
“For this test, each team will be given three different poisons,” he said, raising three bottles in the air so that all of them could see. As soon as he said the word “poison,” the smile on Anko’s face widened, and her friend licked her lips.
“To pass the exam, the entire team must consume the three poisons. Each member can take one, or you can give them to one person, and so forth. The choice of how a team ingests them is their own, but after that, you will have twelve hours to find a cure for the said poisons. Otherwise, you lose and possibly die,” and there was absolute silence in the clearing after his announcement.
“But how will we find the cure?”
“Some basic toxicological equipment has been placed throughout the village. You will also have access to one greenhouse with a selection of herbs,” the proctor informed them, as she exchanged glances with her teammates.
“No infighting is allowed during the exam. You are prohibited from attacking the members of any other team,” but he had not mentioned equipment or the greenhouse, which made them legitimate targets.
All three of them glanced at one another, and it took them a second to reach the same conclusion—They realized the resources weren’t protected. Sabotage was allowed.
Any team could destroy the equipment after using it, hence making it nearly impossible for the rest of the teams to pass.
“Any team that fails to secure a cure for the poisons in the allotted time, or loses a team member to the poisons, will be eliminated,” and that caused quite a stir.
“You are saying we could die,” asked one of the genins, and the jounin nodded.
“Yes, poisons when combined can act in very erratic ways. So, any combination of these poisons could kill you, so make your choice about who will ingest which poison with care, for we will not intervene even if one of you dies,” and that was quite ruthless, but the ninja world was cruel.
“Booths are ready, each team will head to a booth and make their choice. The time begins now!” and immediately, a few teams blurred out of the hall, having already noticed that the equipment and the greenhouse would be the first thing to be destroyed.
Others panicked, and a few entered the booths.
“Let’s go,” Anko excitedly rushed towards one of the booths as she shook her head.
“It’s not candy, Anko,” she chided her friend, who chuckled but no exam could have been more up her alley than one involving poisons.
“To me, it very well may be candy,” she replied as Itachi decided to cut in.
“What does she mean?” he asked.
“Well, you can say this exam is a cake walk for our team,” Saiko replied, her shoulders sagging in relief, because this test was nothing for them, though only because of Anko and her years of suffering.
“Why?”
“Because, poisons simply don’t work on her,” she said, pointing towards Anko, who smirked wildly.
“Over the years, she has built up quite a tolerance to poisons such that her body simply makes an antidote for a poison by itself,” and though the ability may seem simple, she knew better than most just how much Anko had suffered to reach this place.
“So that means we will not need the greenhouse or the other equipment,” he realised, and she nodded.
“As long as we have Anko with her, we will have an antidote for the poisons in a few hours at most,” and so they entered the booth, and found the old woman manning it.
“Oho! What do we have here?” she smiled, and immediately all three of them perked up, much to the woman’s surprise, and her eyes narrowed.
“It seems like you three have heard of me,” she added, and they had not even uttered a single word, yet somehow she had made such a leap from only their mannerism.
“Not many genin recognise an old soul like me these days,” she added while giving a small childish laugh, as they all walked up to the table.
“Well, regardless, have you made your decision on who will ingest which poison?”
Anko stepped forward without hesitation, her eyes gleaming.
“Of course we have,” she declared as the older woman’s eyes gleamed.
“I will drink all three,” and much to the surprise of the old Suna legend, Anko downed all three vials and wiped her mouth, as she crushed the last vial in her hand and scoffed while giving her a toothy grin as she offered a taunt
“I’ve tasted worse....”
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Comments
Hamza Ikram
Nah! I like the guy!
Beta117
Jiraiya is gonna die. Isn’t he?
