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Burdened Soul: Uchiha SI Ch.60
🕑 Added 2025-05-19 17:41:53 +0000 UTCChapter 60
NOHARA RIN
“You know you are not as bad as I thought you would be, kid,” the giant monster she had once feared added from behind the cage, as she sat there hugging her knees.
“If only you weren’t dying, you and I could have become really good friends,” the Sanbi, or rather Isobu, added, his words making her heart skip a beat.
“I would like to think that we are good friends,” she replied with a smile, looking up at the giant beast. The three-tailed giant turtle looked her in the eye as he asked again in that goofy tone.
“I would like that as well,” and unlike Kushina-san’s Kyubi, the Sanbi was more inclined to talk, and after five years of camaraderie, they had come to the point where they could call each other a friend.
“So, what will become of me when you die?” he asked, and her lips thinned as she looked towards the waters below her.
“They are searching for a new host for you,” and if her words enraged the bijuu, it did not show. Isobu knew how his rampages could devastate her body, and so he controlled his chakra until suddenly she felt a small amount of foreign chakra invade her conscience.
“YOU!” she heard Isobu snarl, and this time his rage was obvious as she saw a pair of feet stop beside her.
“Hello there, Isobu,” and she looked up and saw Izuna-kun standing beside her, smiling at Isobu, whose eyes had narrowed in rage.
“What are you doing here, Uchiha?” he snarled, and unlike her Isobu was not fond of Izuna-kun, whom he blamed for his current condition.
“I am here to talk,” he answered, and she looked up.
“We can do that outside of here...” she whispered, and Izuna-kun shook his head.
“No, I need to speak to both of you for this,” he said, making her frown as she stood up.
“Have they found a replacement?” she asked, her heart grew heavier as she saw Izuna-kun shaking his head.
“No,” and he smiled at her.
“But they might have found a cure....”
0000
IZUNA UCHIHA
Tomorrow, they were set to depart for Suna for the exams, and Izuna had done all that he could for the three teams under his care. Now, it was up to the genin to apply all that he had taught them.
Konan had met with Rin upon the latter girl’s request, though the meeting had involved more silence than talking, as the brown haired girl was still processing the news that she may yet live
Orochimaru and Tsunade-sama had made some sort of a breakthrough together, and he had not probed for details, but the plan was highly risky. Yet it was still a chance, and he knew that Minato-san would not hesitate to take it if it could save Rin’s life.
Now, he stood in the graveyard with Saiko standing right beside him, as they paid their respects to Shisui before their departure.
“You know you both are quite a slave driver,” she whispered, clearly angry with him over his training methods, but he had little to no remorse over his actions.
“It's all for your own good,” and she scoffed.
“I know that, but it doesn't mean I have to like it,” and she didn't like it at all.
“Still, Konan-sensei,” she wiggled her brows as they walked out of the cemetery, and he shrugged.
“What about her?” he added, refusing to take the bait.
“I always thought you would end up with Rin,” but he hadn't thought like that.
“Rin is a close friend,” he replied, and she was. But there was never that spark between them; that was there between him and Konan. After losing her two teammates and getting rescued by him, the brown-haired girl had developed a sort of a crush on him.
But there was too much baggage between them for them to have a meaningful relationship.
“Speaking of that, she told me that they might have found a cure for her?” and in the time that he had been away, Saiko and Rin had developed a friendship of their own, and she was amongst the limited people who visited her often.
“Yes,” he said, and the streets had changed greatly in the years he had been away. The markets had expanded, and the number of people shopping at them had increased as well. He could see the people whispering and murmuring as he walked through the streets.
“Do you think it will work?” and he hoped that it would, prayed that it would.
“I don’t know,” but he could not say.
“Saiko,” he began as they entered the clan compound, making her look up at him, as he added seriously while looking at her face.
“Do not take the exams lightly,” and he spoke now as a friend rather than a teacher, and she understood that.
“The Uchiha name carries with it a heavy burden nowadays. Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri all bear us grudges,” and it would be the first opportunity for these three villages to strike back at Konoha, and him.
“Make no mistake that they will target you. They will do everything in their power to kill you, and I will not be able to intervene at all,” and that was what troubled him the most.
“Don’t worry. I know what’s at stake. I won't let you down.”
0000
BAKI-Chunin Exam Coordinator
It had been many years since the Chunin exams had been held in this manner. During the war, holding exams like this was impossible, and even now, despite the war having come to an end, hostilities remained rampant between the Five Great Nations, each of whom was participating in the Exams this year.
Though it was not as if the villages had a choice in the matter. The Exams served as an opportunity for flexing their might, something that Iwa and Kumo desperately wanted to do in order to show the world that they had regained their former glory, proving they were no less formidable than the renowned Konohagakure.
The last two wars had greatly upset the fragile balance of the shinobi world. Where once Iwa, Kumo, and Konoha had been on nearly equal footing, the Third Great Ninja War and the subsequent Kiri-Konoha War had destroyed that balance, tilting the scales heavily in favor of Konoha.
Suna was an ally of Konoha, yet even they were not immune to the threat of Konoha’s rising hegemony. Simply put, with Minato Namikaze at the helm and its entire collection of S-ranked shinobi, Konoha was becoming a threat to every other nation.
And the most troubling thing was that they were not slowing down. The village continued to churn out one promising shinobi after another, and there were rumors that Konoha’s next crop of geniuses was set to participate in the exams.
“Welcome to Sunagakure,” he greeted warmly the party from Kiri, who were led by an orange-haired kunoichi wearing a blue dress that left little to imagination.
Kiri’s retinue was amongst the smallest, with the village sending but one team. Though, that was not strange given the sheer amount of losses they had suffered in their recent war.
It was now a rumor that Kiri had been reduced to a fief of Konoha. Not entirely true, but not entirely false as well.
Kirigakure had suffered heavy losses during the war until it made peace with Konoha some half a year ago. Yet, even now, the village remained without a Kage, with the daimyo controlling the village’s shinobi forces.
The arrangement was said to be interim, just until a prominent candidate for the next Mizukage appeared. Still, many speculated that if it was really the daimyo pulling the strings of the village, or someone else. Someone like Minato Namikaze.
“Thank you,” the jounin kunoichi answered, as the cloth covering her face swayed in the wind, revealing her sharp features, confirming his suspicions about her identity.
“I am Baki, and I will lead you to your quarters,” and the kunoichi smiled, behind the veil, as she and her team followed after him.
“That is quite generous of you,” it really was not. These exams were just as important for Suna as they were for Kiri, Iwa, and Kumo.
It was the first time that exams were happening after the wars, and would definitely draw a massive crowd for the later stages. The increased commerce would serve as a boost to Suna’s troubled economy, while their own shinobi would benefit greatly during the exams because of the familiar terrain and conditions.
After all, fighting in the desert was perhaps just as difficult as fighting on water.
He led them to their quarters and the teams from Kiri and Iwa were already here, which left as Konoha as the last team set to arrive. They had received missives from them, that they were on the way as well, and would be here in a few hours.
“So, these are your quarters,” he said, standing outside, one of the traditional dome-shaped buildings that had been set aside for the retinue from Kiri.
“The Exam will begin in three days. Until then, you are free to roam the village and enjoy teh hospitality of Sunagakure. However, please be mindful that you and your students do not break any laws,” he added, issuing a warning that they should not cause any major ruckus. His words seemed to irritate one of the boys behind her.
He was about to say something, but a single glance from the orange-haired kunoichi was enough to silence him, as she smiled at him, removing her hat and veil.
“Thank you for this, Baki-sama. Although I was hoping to ask you a question,” and he had an idea just what it was, but he nodded nonetheless.
“Of course, Mei-sama,” and he saw those eyes narrow as he took her name, showing that he had recognised her.
“Oh, it seems I have been rather impolite in failing to introduce myself,” and he did not care.
“But you still managed to recognise me, interesting?” not really. He would have to be a fool to not recognise that face.
“I doubt there are many shinobi who would fail to recognize someone as famous and feared as you,” he said, and that was because of both her beauty and her skills. For the kunoichi smiling in front of him was the front-runner to be the next Mizukage and was the only shinobi who could go toe-to-toe with Konoha’s Seven Headed Demon, the Butcher of Kumo—Izuna Uchiha.
“I am hardly worthy of the praise, but do tell me, have the teams from Konoha arrived yet?” and he had expected that.
“I am afraid not,” and she nodded, her smile dipping slightly.
“Then could you tell me, are the rumors true? That they are sending him?” and how she said that last word, made him gulp down nervously. Baki was a seasoned jounin, yet here he stood, sweating because of the pressure emanating from a kunoichi half his age.
The next generation seemed to be filled with all sorts of monsters.
Thankfully, Suna had a few monsters of their own.
“I am afraid I am not at liberty to disclose that information...” but suddenly she raised a hand, stopping him from speaking, the smile vanishing from her face, and she straightened up before turning her face towards the gates, She was silent, and they were miles inside the village, and there was an entire village between them and the gate, yet she still called out a name.
“Kimimaro,” she whispered, and the white-haired boy behind her closed his eyes before he added.
“It is him,” he whispered after a few seconds, and he saw her eyes narrow as the smile returned to her face and all he could hear was a whisper.
“So, he is here....”
.
.
.
At the gates of Suna, one the largest retinue of participants had arrived for the exams. The three teams from Konoha were here, and they were led by none other than the greatly feared monster from the Uchiha clan, the Seven-Headed Demon—Izuna Uchiha.
Suna could not send just any shinobi to welcome this group, even if Konoha was an ally. And so, Rasa had delegated one of Suna’s very own S-ranked shinobi to this task, a kunoichi whose name inspired fear in the hearts of their enemies.
One who was quite familiar with this monster.
“Welcome to Sunagakure,” she greeted warmly, as she faced the boy half his age, yet he had a bounty that was nearly double hers, and an even greater kill count.
“It has been quite some time since we last saw each other, Pakura-san...”
0000
In a small cave far away, a being of Black and White knelt before a shinobi wearing a red armor that had gone out of fashion decades ago.
“My lord, it seems we have a little problem,” Zetsu whispered, and the newly alive, or better yet revived Madara glanced back, and raised a brow.
“What is it?”
“The barrier was not strong enough to contain the chakra signature of the Rinnegan. A shinobi was able to sense it and is now heading towards us,” and that made the ancient shinobi raise a brow.
“Such sharp senses, interesting,” he whispered, rubbing his chin as he slowly walked towards the seat which had just been emptied.
“Who is this shinobi?” he asked, plopping down on the chair as he rested his face on his fist.
“A Sanin from Konoha. One of the students of the Sandaime Hokage, Jiraiya,” and that made him raise a brow.
“One of those brats, huh. It would have been better if it had been that Monkey himself,” and he seemed a bit dejected, unlike most shinobi who would quake in fear if they learned that Jiraiya of the Sanin was heading towards them.
“We must reloca...”
“No!” he declared, much to Zetsu’s surprise.
“Let him come. It will be a good opportunity for me to test this new body of mine....”
0000
Comments
Radiant Tiefling
Thank you for the chapter.
Dragonslayer29
Probably me favorite chap so far thanks for the update. Also glad Pakura alive as I always felt bad about what happened to her in the otl.
Beta117
I’m in Alaska for vacation and it’s fun getting chapters at 10 instead of 2 PM. Thanks!
