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Burdened Soul: Uchiha SI Ch.61
🕑 Added 2025-05-23 18:01:28 +0000 UTCChapter 61
KONAN
The journey to Sunagakure had been swift, and smooth. And theirs was the last team to arrive. There were still a few days until the exams began, but Izuna had dragged her out of their compounds as soon as they had unpacked.
“Is it truly wise to leave them like this?” she asked, and though he was the head of the retinue, it was Konan who was the sensei to the team.
Though, it seemed to her that he did not share her concerns as he simply waved his hand.
“They will be fine. Choza-san is with them,” and the Akimichi clan head was the second in command, and had a team of his own participating in the exams, another quite talented bunch.
“Plus, it's not every day that you get an opportunity to see a foreign village,” and she raised a brow.
“Weren’t you in Kiri just before the war ended?” she asked, making him stop as he explained.
“But I was fighting then, I could not visit any markets or shops,” and she shook her head, having gotten used to his antics as he led them to a restaurant.
“This place looks good,” and they entered the place, and soon enough they were sat at a private booth, and served the delicacies of their land. Camel meat was the protein of choice here, and she would admit that she had never tried it before.
Neither had Izuna, if his expression was anything to go by, as he ordered a slew of dishes, not even bothering to look at their prices.
“Don’t you think it's too much food for just the two of us?” and she did not know to him to be a voracious eater, and he smiled as he glanced towards her.
“Who is to say that this just for the two of us?” and his words made her frown, until the curtains around their booth moved as she glanced back, cautiously and saw another person entering their booth.
“I am sorry for intruding,” and it took her a second to recognise that voice, and that face. How could she forget, after she had spent years fighting against her during the war.
Her dress seemed as impractical for a ninja as ever, yet how the people around the restaurant were looking at her, it served its purpose as she smiled sweetly at them both.
“But when I sensed your chakra, I had to come and greet you,” and no she did not have to. She really did not have to.
“Of course, after all, we are old acquaintances now, aren’t we?” Izuna, unlike her, was willing to play her little game as he pointed towards the empty seat beside her.
“Come join us, Terumi,” and the dark orange-haired kunoichi smiled while biting her lip.
“I believe I will,” and she sat down beside her, and the air was thick with tension, and she could feel that the Sunagakure shinobi stationed around them were on edge, fearing a confrontation.
But Terumi Mei was not stupid enough to start a fight here.
“So, Terumi...”
“Call me Mei,” she said, leaning forward seductively, as Konan rolled her eyes. She must know by now that such tactics were useless against him. Izuna dived in, prompting them to do the same.
Unlike the two of them, she had little interest in their games. So she took a bite of the meat and found it a bit chewier and saltier than the proteins she was used to.
“I did not think Kiri was going to send a team?” he taunted, and the kunoichi from Kiri kept smiling as she responded to the taunt.
“We are, though I never knew that you were a sensei yourself,” and he shook his head.
“I am afraid I am still spared that headache, unlike you,” and then he looked towards her, much to her dismay.
“Though I believe you could ask Konan for her experience in that regard. After all, she has a team of her own participating in the exams,” and those brown orbs moved to her, and even a year later, she had not gotten used to their banter.
Terumi Mei was perhaps the only Kiri shinobi who could face him on an equal footing with Izuna, and so they had faced each other over a dozen times. She knew Izuna, knew his prowess, knew that his mind and abilities allowed him to find a counter to any shinobi or technique if he just fought against them once.
Yet for some reason, he continued to spare her.
“Oh, is that so?” she asked, tilting her head towards her, and though most of the shinobi would simply pass her over as a pretty face, there was a devil’s mind behind that gaze. One that was soon going to rule over the entire Kirigakure.
“To give you a team of your own, Konoha sure does move fast,” she said shaking her head.
“Is there any way I can tempt you away from that village?” and she reached for her shoulder, making Konan raise a brow.
“I promise you that I will treat you better than th...” and just as her hands were about to rub her hair, Konan slapped it away.
“No,” she answered, as she had a dozen times before.
“I am quite satisfied where I am,” and if her rejection angered her, it did not show on her face as she continued to smile at her.
“A shame,” she whispered before turning towards Izuna-kun once more.
“Since both our genin will be participating in the exams, I propose a wager,” she said, rubbing the rim of her glass. Konan did not miss how the glass was melting away at her touch, as Izuna raised a brow.
“I am listening.”
“I do not know what the first two stages of the exam will be, but the third test is often a tournament, and so I propose a little challenge.” the smile vanished in an instant, as she raised a brow.
“For each genin of yours that my little pupils spare...”
“...you will give me back one of Kiri’s Seven Treasured Blades!”
And she could hardly believe her audacity, and for the first time since she had arrived, she could see Izuna’s mind racing. He put down his fork and clasped his hands in front of him as he asked a question of his own.
“Spares, such bold words?” and she shrugged.
“I just believe in my students, that's all. But if you are so certain about the potential of your pupils, why hesitate?”
“And what is in it for me?”
“I could think of quite a few things,” began Terumi Mei suggestively, but Izuna remained stoic, unmoved by her beauty. His smile vanished, and the woman sighed as she stopped her attempts at seducing him.
“You are as cold-blooded as always,” and that he was.
“An alliance...”
.
.
.
And an hour later, they were out on the streets once more heading towards their quarters, and Izuna had been awfully quiet ever since Terumi Mei had made him that offer.
“Why did you spare her?” and he seemed taken aback by that question.
“What?” he asked, and she had never asked him about this previously. But now seemed like a good enough time.
“Terumi Mei,” she asked again.
“During the war, you fought her countless times. I know that you could have killed her during any of these battles, yet for some reason, you did not. Why?” she asked.
“Why do you think I spared her?” and she hated questions like that, but now that he had prompted her to think like that, she raked her mind trying to reason out his motives.
If you were naive, one could say love, or perhaps lust. But she knew firsthand that Terumi Mei’s beauty or appearance had little sway over him. Nor did he fear any retaliation, given that they were at war with Kiri. She was a threat, a credible threat, one which had allowed to fester and grow.
“Because you wanted to strengthen and stabilise Kiri?” and his upturned lips were answer enough, as he nodded.
“Yes,” and that seemed counterproductive. Especially given that Kiri was their enemy.
“The Third Mizukage was a detestable man, hated even by his own villages,” and for good reason. The man’s policies, especially the graduation test for genin was simply too brutal. Forcing children to kill their friends and classmates. It was abhorrent, and something that she loathed.
It was the work of a devil.
“But he was a kage nonetheless, one who had the power and the means to unite the divided and fractioned village,” and Kiri, much like Konoha, in a few regards. It had quite a few clans associated with it, yet unlike in Konoha, these clans had little unity and pride in them, and were always looking to gain more and more power.
“With him gone, Kiri had a power vacuum. And it was best for Kiri, Konoha, and the entire continent that a saner and able individual filled this vacuum,” and that person was her.
“But who made that choice?” she asked, and he raised a brow.
“The water daimyo,” and that explained so much of what had transpired during the last year of the war. Why did he continue to spare her life? He was helping her gain fame and clout amongst her own forces, building up support for her bid for being the Fourth Mizukage.
“So, this offer?” and he nodded once more.
“It comes from the daimyo. A repayment of sorts for what Konoha has done for him,” and now she understood why rumors about Kiri becoming a puppet of Konoha were circulating.
“And what about that wager?” she doubted that came from the daimyo as well.
“No. That was entirely her,” and he rubbed his chin.
“Are you going to take it?” and he shrugged.
“We will have to see...”
And her senses suddenly picked up a chakra that appeared right behind him.
“Watch out....”
BOOOM!
0000
PAKURA—Hero of the Sand
When her village had decided to host the exams, it was obvious to them that it could cause a great ruckus. The enmity between the Five Hidden Villages had never been higher. The Third Great Ninja War had ended half a decade ago, yet the wounds and scars from that conflict still festered in the hearts of Kumo and Iwa, both of whom would want to have their revenge.
And so, that was why the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa-sama, had assembled a special unit to monitor personnel from Konoha. Pakura was appointed head of that unit due to her familiarity with the leader of the retinue from Konoha.
She had feared the worst when the leader of Kiri’s retinue had entered their booth in the restaurant, but thankfully, that issue had not moved beyond words. Yet as the young Uchiha clan scion took to the streets once more, he was seen by a particular shinobi from Iwa.
“What do you think you are doing, Bakuton no Gari?” she questioned, as she put herself in between him and the leader of Konoha’s retinue, the young Izuna Uchiha.
The Iwa jounin had a smirk on his face as he saw her, as Pakura held his arm, stopping him from touching the young shinobi from Konoha.
“What do you think?” he taunted with a smile.
“I just wanted to greet our friends from Konoha, that’s all.” her eyes narrowed as Izuna Uchiha turned around, acting all innocent as if he had not sensed both of their chakras and movements minutes ago.
“Friend, you say,” Izuna Uchiha remarked as he looked at the jounin with spiky hair and raised a brow.
“Bakuton no Gari, so you are still alive. I had thought Minato-san had killed all of you lot,” and she saw the Iwa-nin’s brow twitch as he backed off, and pulled away his arm from her grip.
“And where is the Yellow Flash. I especially came here hoping to meet the man who killed my entire unit,” and Gari was the leader of the Explosion Corps, which Minato Namikaze had slaughtered during the Third Great Ninja War.
He was the only survivor from that massacre.
“Minato-san is busy. After all, I am more than capable of dealing with pests like you,” and the smile had vanished, and so had Izuna Uchiha, who suddenly appeared behind Gari, who now had a small cut on his cheek.
Pakura’s breath halted as she saw him glance back. The black irises were gone, replaced by his ominous red eyes.
“If you try such a thing like this again, the next thing I cut will be your neck...” and there was the butcher of Kumo—the cold-hearted killer, who had slaughtered an entire army even before turning ten.
“You dar...” but Gari was not going to stand back, and she saw him spin on his heels as he aimed his palm towards his face.
“You da....”
SWOOOOSH! SWOOOOSH! SWOOSH!
But before the matter could escalate, sand rose from the ground, pushing them apart. And it was not regular sand. No, this was golden sand, one that was used by only one shinobi in all of Suna.
“That is quite enough,” she said, and she looked up to see the Fourth Kazekage standing there, looking down at both Izuna and Gari, as golden sand held both of these shinobi in place.
“I believe it was made quite clear that Suna will tolerate no such behavior during the exams,” the Kazekage said, his voice laced with fury as he addressed the two assailants.
“He started it,” Izuna Uchiha was quick to blame Gari, who gritted his teeth.
“It was you, the lot of you…”
“ENOUGH!” But the lord Kazekage was in no mood to hear any explanations or excuses.
“The purpose of these exams is to build alliances and bury old grudges. I will not let my village become an arena for your revenge,” and he was addressing the Iwa nin now, who was glaring at the man.
“The Tsuchikage will hear about this. You are dismissed, Gari, from Iwa...” and the sand around his legs loosened and the man clicked his tongue, but he knew that he was at fault, and so he walked away, leaving them alone with the two shinobi from Konoha.
“Well then, now that this whole ordeal is over, I would like to be on my way as well,” and Pakura watched as the body being held by the golden sand suddenly dissolved into a horde of crows, as Izuna Uchiha appeared beside his female comrade once more.
“Stop!” the Kazekage announced as he lowered himself to the ground, clearly irritated.
“Yes,” Izuna Uchiha said, turning to face him as the man sighed.
“Clearly, I have underestimated the threat and animosity you face because of your status,” and this made Izuna raise a brow.
“I can take care of myself...”
“I know, but you are a guest here, and as long as you are my guest, your safety is my responsibility,” he said, then turned towards her.
“Pakura,” and she bent down instantly.
“Yes, Kazekage-sama.”
“From now on, you will accompany the retinue from Konoha personally....”
0000
Comments
Radiant Tiefling
Thank you for the chapter.
