The Little Uchiha - A Naruto Quest

Epsilon · May 14, 2016

《~》

It is hot.

The air is heavy with the cloying sweetness of magnolia, and the incessant cacophony of a thousand cicadas resound in your ears.

You lounge lazily beneath the shade of a massive banyan tree- one so large that it almost blots out the sky above. A scant few rays of sunlight breaks through the canopy, letting you see the uncountable, thread-like roots hanging down from thick branches.

A black and white tabby cat mewls from one such branch, looking at you with a hint of pleading in its gaze. It's stuck atop the gnarled old tree, not knowing how to come back down.

However, you ignore the kitty and think on a more interesting conundrum. Aren't roots supposed to grow beneath the ground? That was not the case with this absurdly large tree, which had roots hanging from its stem. You suppose that's just another question you'll have to ask your-

[ ] Father

[ ] Mother

[ ] Big Sister

[ ] Big Brother

Yeah. They'll know the answer, won't they?

You stop trying to count the thin roots swaying in the wind and close your eyes. The weather is hot, but pleasant nonetheless- enough to lull you into that hazy state between wakefulness and sleep. The heat is something familiar; something you've always known.

Something in your blood.

You are an Uchiha, a scion of one of the oldest ninja clans to ever roam the lands great and small. Your ancestors stole fire from the gods and learned to breathe it from their lungs, burning all those who stood in their way to achieve victory. Every Uchiha has fire running in their veins- and so do you.

You're not a glorious warlord like the Uchiha of the old though. Not even a ninja.

Not yet.

You're just a sleepy four year old boy, who spends his days sleeping and playing. You dream of glory and power, but you've never even thrown a punch in your admittedly short life. You dream of exploring the world beyond the walls, of rescuing pretty princesses from the clutches of evil Iwa-nin; but you won't even bother trying to rescue a cat from a tree in reality.

The cat mewls yet gain. It is a pitiful sound, one designed to tug at the heartstrings of all those who hear it.

Your eyes snap open.

Will you take that step today? Will you begin your journey on the path to eternal glory?

Will you rescue the cat?

[ ] Yes
-[ ] Climb the tree yourself. You really want to do this on your own.
-[ ] Find an adult, who can save the cat with ease.

[ ] No
-[ ] You really don't wanna get up from napping right now.
-[ ] Eh, the cat can just jump down on its own when it mans up. Right?

You're a four year old boy, born into the Uchiha clan of Konoha.

What's your name?

[ ] Shin

[ ] Kyouya

[ ] Hibiki

[ ] Write in. Try to keep it japanese and male. Write in is also subject to veto.

Welcome, young Uchiha. Try not to die too quickly~

Epsilon · May 14, 2016

The Little Uchiha

《Character Information》

Uchiha Hibiki
Catnapper, Uchiha Prodigy
Male, 4 years old

Uchiha Hibiki Generic Skills Weaponry Skills Body Skills Chakra Skills Kekkei Genkai Traits

A four year old boy from the Uchiha clan of Konoha. Hibiki dreams of being a great ninja, to forever immortalise the Uchiha name in the pages of history.

《The Catnapper》
Uchiha Hibiki
《Generic Skills》

●Tree Climbing - You can scramble up trees great and small.

● Persuasion [Unlocked!] - Worthless (4/50)
You're a cute kid. You can sometimes convince adults to do your bidding with but a glance of your wide, glittering eyes. [At current rank, +5 to Persuation rolls]
《Weaponry Skills》

●Kunai Throwing - Worthless (36/50).

You can throw the metal daggers better than a runt like you should be able to.
《Body Skills》

● Running - Worthless (36/50). You can now run half a mile without collapsing like a total incompetent. Good for you!

● Taijutsu - Novice (35/100). Watching a pint sized kid like you putting a slight dent on the bark of a tree is fairly unsettling. For some bizzare reason, this makes your clan head all the more prouder.

~ Sekkendou - Way of the Intercepting Fist.
The collective name given to the Uchiha's varied array of...misappropriated fighting styles. The Intercepting Fist allows you to counter a specific taijutsu style once you learn it.

Standard Leaf Style
《Chakra Skills》

●Chakra Reserves - Small (Growing). You are a child, and your chakra reserves reflect that. Still, it will only grow with time and effort; neither of which you particularly lack.

Miniscule
Small
Noticeable
Medium
Noteworthy
Large
Exceptional
Massive
Monstrous
Tailless Tailed Beast

● Chakra Control - Trainee (31/250). Your talent in control is nothing short of incredible. You have an innate understanding of chakra; you understand how it is to be manipulated, shaped and mastered. Most ninja acquire this capability at over twice your age, but then, you've always been an exception to the norm.

● Ninjutsu - Worthless (28/50). A broad term that covers many branches of the ninja arts. You think you're capable of learning the most basic of jutsus by now. Got a while yet till you start breathing fire though.

◆ Campfire Technique [D] - A basic jutsu most Konoha ninja eventually learn. The Campfire Technique allows you to generate a momentary spark of flame, that'd allow you to get a campfire going. The Uchiha clan use this as a way of easing their children into learning Katon ninjutsu.

● Genjutsu - Worthless (1/50). The illusory arts. Your knowledge of genjutsu is bare-bones at this point; you haven't put in any actual effort to learn it.

◆ Prey Observation Jutsu - [Incomplete]
《Kekkei Genkai》

Sharingan - The fabled bloodline of the Uchiha clan. At present stage, it allows a more acute vision and chakra perception. You can remember whatever you see with your sharingan; it is a powerful learning tool as well. [Bonus exp]

◆Current level: Immature (Single Tomoe)
《Traits》

Into the fray - If there's something to be done, you'll do it yourself instead of waiting around for others. Affects your choices.

Adorable Child - You are a cute little kid. Better milk that while it lasts! +10 to situations where you persuade someone.

Uchiha Prodigy - Your growth as a ninja is terrifying. As a talented child of a clan of powerful ninja, you are expected to do great things. People, both good and bad, have their eye on you. +15 to any skill check; increased infamy, negative bonus to making friends your age.

Guiding the River - You possess an innate talent at controlling your chakra. Some aspects of the ninja arts come easier to you now.

◆Capable of studying Medical Ninjutsu.
◆ +10 to any control check.
◆ For every five exp spent in Genjutsu or Medical Ninjutsu, you gain one extra exp in that area.

??? (1/2) - In progress

Epsilon · May 15, 2016

You observe the bark of the great tree.

It is rough and gnarled, enough to hold your feet in place. The tree is quite high, however.

The cat takes that moment to mewl yet again, and your mind is set. You are Uchiha Hibiki, and you will not back down from this perilous task.

Slipping off your sandals, you put your hands on the rough bark- trying to get a feel for its resistance. Your legs slip around the trunk as much as they can, and you begin to climb.

Every child of Konoha knows how to climb trees, how to move through the brush and thick forestry. There are giant trees everywhere, reaching out to the skies- the living proof that the Shodaime once walked these very lands.

Your fingers almost feel numb by the time you make it to the top.

The cat cocks its head and looks at you. Up closer, it looks even smaller and younger, easily able to fit in the crook of your elbow.

"Hey there princess. I'm here to save you," you declare dramatically.

The cat jumps on to your face. You sputter and shift it to a more comfortable position on your neck, and then begin the long journey down.

Your knees scrape against the bark and your palms ache. You would've complained, but ninja often get hurt while completing their missions. You'll take the pain like a man.

The last few feet give you no trouble, as you jump down.

"Mission accomplished," you say while striking a cool pose. The cat nuzzles your cheek.

You would've gone back to cat-napping beneath the tree once more, but you hear someone roar out your name.

"Hibiki! You brat!"

Something drops down from the sky, landing wirh a heavy thump in front of you. The cat hisses and buries its claws into the back of your shirt.

Your assailant grabs you by the neck and furiously rubs her knuckles onto your scalp.

"Ow! Nee-chan, stop it!"

Your big sister, for that's who your assailant is, sighs and lets you go. She kneels down, and then pokes around your knee.

"Ow!" you yelp again.

The pale skin around your knees is scrubbed raw from rubbing against the rough bark of the tree.

"Your legs are so red that I could see them from that rooftop," your sister says while pointing to a building far to the south. Nee-chan's eyes must be very good to see you from that far. Your big sister is awesome and the best at everything, of course.

"Shut up, Hibiki," she says, cheeks slightly red. The heat must be getting to her.

Your nee-chan brings out a roll of gauze and a small bottle of disinfectant from the pouch on her hip, and starts picking out stray splinters from your skin. It stings when she rubs in the liquid, but you take the pain like a man.

...okay, maybe one or two whimpers came out.

"There, all better," your sister says after wrapping your leg in gauze. "Now tell me, why were you climbing a tree?"

You blink for a moment and then reach behind to pry the black and white tabby-cat from your back. It nuzzles your hand, and tries to bury itself back into your shirt.

"I was saving this cat from the tree!" you declare proudly, chest puffed up in pride. The cat mewls in agreement, probably saying how brave and dashing you were.

Your sister has a strange look on her face as she watches you and the little cat in your arms. She reaches out with her hand..

And then squeezes your cheek while giggling madly. Nee-chan is usually gruff and tuff, but often she starts squealing and giggling for no reason at all! If anyone else had pinched your cheeks and pulled on them you'd have tried to claw their eyes out; but since it's your nee-chan, you don't mind.

It's almost time for lunch, which was why your sister had come to fetch you. Your house is not too far away from here, but you still don't feel like walking.

"Nee-chan, will you give me a piggyback? Pwease?"

"You're lucky you're so cute," your sister grumbles while you ride on her back.

Your parents aren't at home, both being out on border patrol. Your sister whips you up riceballs and fish in a few minutes, and then the two of you eat.

After lunch, your sister asks you what you want to do.

[ ]Let's go out and get some dango for dessert!

[ ] I wanna watch you train, nee-chan!

[ ] Let's go to the park.

Your big sister is a student at the Ninja Academy. What's her name?

[ ]Mio

[ ] Hikari

[ ] Write in

Epsilon · May 15, 2016

"I wanna watch you train, nee-chan!"

Your sister hmms and hums, as if slowly considering the decision. One look at your bright eyes however, and she caves in.

"Fine. You'll stay at the corners though, so that you don't get hit by a stray kunai, okay?"

"Okay! Hikari nee-chan's the best!" you happily say while hugging her waist. She grumbles, but you don't miss the small smile on her face. Her cheeks are slightly red again though; nee-chan really can't handle the heat it seems.

The Uchiha are one of the four noble clans of Konoha, and as such, have access to numerous facilities. There are three private training grounds owned by the clan, and are accessible at all hours for any Uchiha who wishes to train.

It's a short walk from your house, just beyond the Military Police Headquarters. The grounds are fenced off by barbed wire, and always have a guard at the entrance.

The guard today is a lazy looking chunin from the military police, a distant cousin who seems vaguely familiar. Perhaps you've met before, or it's just that he has the looks of a generic Uchiha teen. He sees your sister, and writes something down on a clipboard.

"Hey there Hikari. The ground's completely free today. Have fun!"

"Thanks Kou," your sister replies with a grin.

The guard, Kou turns and squints at you. "Who's the runt?"

Hikari laughs and ruffles your hair, while you glare at Kou. You do not deign him with a response, however. You're not a runt, and you know it.

"He's my cute little brother," Hikari says after a moment. "Wanted to watch me train, so here we are."

"Alright, be careful."

Kou waves the two of you inside, and then returns to his guarding post.

Your sister begins by doing a series of stretches and generic warm up exercises.

Then she starts punching the wind.

"Nee-chan, who're you fighting with?" you ask curiously.

Your sister stumbles midway through a flying kick, and lands awkwardly. She looks at you with a strange glint in her eye.

"I'm fighting with my...invisible friend."

"Oh. Okay."

You sit cross-legged on the ground and watch your sister train. She punches and kicks her invisible opponent with brutal ferocity. Hikari was beating the snot outta them, you think.

Maybe that's why her friend remained invisible. Otherwise they'd look like one big bruise!

Nodding to yourself sagely, you continue to watch. The fight ends sometime later, and Hikari tells you that her invisible friend went home. Okay, cool.

After that, your sister brings out the bulk of the contents of her weapon-pouch, which turns out to be about a dozen kunai.

There are target boards strung up in numerous trees nearby, one just behind you. Quickly, you scoot away to a safer place to watch.

Taking a deep breath, Hikari starts throwing. She throws her kunai one after another with both arms, taking no breaks in between. Within seconds, twelve boards had a kunai stuck in them.

You clap.

"That was awesome, Nee-chan!"

Hikari looks happy at the praise, but still seems unsatisfied. "Not all of them are bulls-eyes, Hibiki."

You take a closer look at the targets. Seven of the twelve boards had kunai stuck at the very centre, while the others had varying degrees of accuracy. Still, it was an impressive feat to be able to hit the targets at all- you doubt you could hit a single one.

Maybe you should try your hand at throwing and see how good you are?

"Hikari-nee?" you ask while your sister collects her thrown projectiles.

"Hm? What is it, Hibiki?"

"...can I throw some kunai too?"

She turns to look at you with a raised eyebrow, and then gives you a shrug.

"Well, since you'd be learning this soon anyway, guess it can't hurt."

Hikari shows you the proper wrist movements for throwing kunai and you watch intently, burning the knowledge in your mind.

You grip the handle of the weapons firmly and slip into a haze of concentration.

And then...

You throw.

Roll: 80

You throw them one after another like your sister did, never pausing in between each flick of your wrists. Thud after thud resounds through the training ground, till your hands are empty of kunai.

Only then, do you stop and breathe. Your shoulders burn due to the sudden strain you put them through, but the pain does not matter; the results do. Your sister whistles, clearly impressed.

You had thrown at ten targets.

Eight of them have kunai embedded within, while the other two are stuck in barks of the trees used to hang up the targets.

"Eight out of ten," your sister says in disbelief. "That's pretty damn cool- is that a bulls eye!?"

Yeah. When you'll grow up, you'll be a heroic ninja who rescues princesses after all.

And heroes are always pretty damn cool.

Hn.

You make your way out of the training ground.

Your sister had shooed you out while she continued her training, giving you free leave to do whatever. Perhaps you could go play in the park or maybe pig out on some well deserved dango?

You squint at the sky. From the waning yellow light of the afternoon, you guess there's about an hour or two till it starts to get dark.

What do you do?

[ ] Go play in the park!

[ ] Get yourself some well deserved dango!

[ ] Explore Konoha! Hopefully you won't get lost...

[ ] Go back home; you're feeling a bit tired.

You've learnt the skill Kunai Throwing.

《Kunai Throwing - Worthless (0/50)》

Trait Progressing - Prodigy 1/3

Epsilon · May 16, 2016

...You decide to get yourself some dango.

There's a dango shop not too far away from the training grounds. Putting your hands in your pockets, you stroll towards your destination. You would've whistled a jaunty tune, but you don't think the streets have the right mood for it.

Everywhere you look, you can find people depressed or melancholic.

The Third Ninja War is going on, after all.

Konoha is a beautiful place, but for as long as you can remember, it has always been a never-ending funeral. You've lost aunts, uncles and cousins to the war, more than the number of fingers and toes you have. Your parents are out there fighting for the village, but you can't help but worry that they won't come back.

Those who die in the war are heroes, right?

But you don't really want anyone to become a hero that way. You want your parents to come home safely; they're already great heroes in your eyes.

Shaking the depressing thoughts from your head, you continue on your way. You gaze at the pale yellow sky, watching it slowly darken with clouds. Will it rain?

Something else catches your attention as you look up. Far in the north a massive monument reaches up towards the sky and marks the horizon; carved out from a natural rock formation with intricate precision. It is something every child of Konoha gaze at with awe at least once in their lives.

The Hokage Mountain.

The faces of the greatest sons of the Land of Fire stare down at you with judging eyes.

What will you do, Uchiha Hibiki? When the time comes, what will you choose?

Will you willingly die for the village, sacrificing yourself for the happiness of others? Will you die for your loved ones, your family? Or will you survive, living to fight another day?

Choose wisely. This will affect your choices leading up to the Uchiha rebellion.
[ ] Konoha. If it's truly needed, I'll die for the village. I was born a son of Konoha, and I will bravely die for it when the time comes.

[ ] Family. I will never hesitate to sacrifice myself for the happiness of my family. My family is the most important thing to me, you see.

[ ] I don't wanna die. I'll find another way to save the day.

[ ] Write in?

The dango shop comes into view and you snap out of your reverie. You've been having strange thoughts all day...

Roll: 4

You see someone familiar in the dango shop.

"Hey! Obito nii-san!"

obito_render__599_manga__by_zied_feeeeeeeeeerah-d5d2eoi.png

Obito was furiously munching away at some dango, when you sidled up to the seat beside him. He really looked kinda constipated today, you thought.

"HUH! What did you say, you little brat?" Obito roared.

Oh. You must've said that out loud...

Obito's arm snapped out like a whip and grabbed your cheeks- and then he started pulling.

"Aaow! I'm sauwwy!"

Dammit. Why do they always go for the cheek?

Obito let you go and gave you a grin. "So how've you been, Hibiki?"

"Pretty good..."

He orders another plate of dango for you. Obito is your favourite cousin, the sort that's like a cool big brother figure. He's the type to sneak behind your parents and slip you a cone of ice cream- that type of cool.

"My day hasn't gone too well though," Obito moaned. "That fu- er, jerk Kakashi made it to jounin and rubbed it in my face!"

You nod sagely, and munch on your dango. Most of the Uchiha children know of That Jerk Kakashi, Obito nii-san's arch nemesis and teammate.

"And Rin-chan is now even more enamored with him! So unfair..."

You know Rin too! She's the girl hypnotised by That Jerk Kakashi. Obito wants to rescue her someday.

"And that jerk also wants me to bring him a gift! Pfft, as if making jounin is anything special," Obito grumbles.

"Hn. You shouldn't take a gift for your arch-nemesis, Nii-san. And I'm sure you'll rescue Rin from That Jerk Kakashi's evil plans someday.'

Obito looks
at you for a moment and then laughs.
"Sure. You're a smart little kid aren't you, Hibiki?"

Of course. No doubt about it.

Obito insists on walking you home since it's getting dark.

"I met Lady Mikoto and little Itachi at the dango shop today before you arrived," Obito says while the two of you move through the slowly emptying streets.

Uchiha Mikoto is the clan head's wife, and a really pretty and nice lady. Her son, Itachi is the heir to the clan, the next head of the Uchiha. A quiet boy, but unfailingly polite and kind all the times you've met him.

"Mikoto-sama's really getting large! The baby must be coming sometime soon."

Oh yeah, she's having a baby, right?

"Obito nii-san, how are babies made? Where do they come from?"

Your cousin stops in his tracks.

"Err..." Obito looks nervous. "I think..."

He is saved from answering as a guy in a military police uniform stops the two of you.

Uncle Yashiro.

"Heard you got an important mission tomorrow, Obito?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," Obito replies uneasily. You really don't like how uncle Yashiro is looking down at your favourite cousin.

"Perks of being the Yellow Flash's student, hm? Don't fuck it up, kid."

Obito's knuckles whiten as he clenches his fist.

"I won't."

The two of you continue on your way, but Yashiro calls back.

"Hey Obito, how are your eyes?"

"They're fine. The goggles you gave me really help in keeping the dust out, thanks!"

"That's not what I meant!"

Obito pretends not to hear.

"Nii-san?" you ask quietly.

"Hm? What is it?" Obito replies, his tone much more solemn than usual. His eyes are slightly red and puffy.

His dust allergy must be acting up again.

Obito nii-san is too awesome to cry after all.

"Why is the sharingan so important to our clan?" you finally ask.

"The sharingan, huh..."

Because that's the reason they look down on Obito, isn't it? Obito nii-san is a great person and an awesome ninja, who's always trying his very best. Every morning and every night on his off days, Obito trains in the training grounds, working hard to become a better ninja. He's a chunin. But it's not enough, as he does not have the eyes of the Uchiha.

Not even a single tomoe.

"The sharingan...makes us better ninja, I think?" he finally says. "It can copy any jutsu it sees. It can see through genjutsu. It can see chakra, and things moving fast in slow motion..."

He turns to you with a sad smile. "The sharingan is the mark of a true Uchiha. It's what makes us great."

"I see."

Obito continues however, pouring his thoughts into words.

"But...how many Uchiha have you seen who are truly great?" he asks you.

"Huh?"

"We're all good ninja, but nothing great. Since the time of Madara, how many Uchiha have you heard of who are truly exceptional? Great ninjas, whose names are found on every page of a history book, whose faces are carved on a mountain?"

You stay silent, but you already know the answer.

"None," Obito softly says. "None at all."

He looks at the grand structure in the distance; at the heads of the three Hokage.

"That's my dream, Hibiki. I want to become the Hokage; something which will make people remember the Uchiha name forever- sharingan or not."

"I think you can do it, nii-san," you say with a smile. "You're the best ninja I know."

Obito grins, his mood much better. You're in front of the gates of your house now.

Your cousin kneels down. "Then let's make a promise, Hibiki," he says with a brilliant smile on his face. "We'll make the Uchiha great, or die trying, okay?"

He holds out his pinky, and you seal the deal by meeting his finger with your own.

You gain 2 EXP to spend for the next week. Choose any two (or you can pick one option twice if you want.)
~I'll also count this part by Plan, not individually.

[ ] Kunai Throwing - Worthless (0/50)

[ ] Taijutsu - Dreadful (0/10)

[ ] Running - Dreadful (0/10)

[ ] Chakra Control - Dreadful (0/10)

*For each EXP, there will be a 1d10 roll, and the result will be added to your skill.

*Dreadful (0/10) basically means you don't know this skill : P

There was an alternate encounter planned for this chapter. Had the roll been a success, you'd have met Mikoto and Itachi. The former would have conversationally asked name suggestions for her yet to come baby. I would then prompt another roll, whose success would cause Mikoto to take your name into consideration.

Basically, you might have changed Uchiha Sasuke's name...lol

Epsilon · May 17, 2016

The faces of the greatest sons of the Land of Fire stare down at you with judging eyes.

What will you do, Uchiha Hibiki? When the time comes, what will you choose?

Will you willingly die for the village, sacrificing yourself for the happiness of others? Will you die for your loved ones, your family? Or will you survive, to live to fight another day?

You close your eyes to think, but deep down, you already know the answer.

Family.

You are a young boy, a child. To you, your family is your world, the thing which you hold closest to heart. You love your clan and all that it stands for; you're proud of being a bearer of the Uchiha name.

Yes...

If you ever have to sacrifice yourself, you will do it...for your family.

5. Mystery

Your sister has shared the word of your natural talent in the art of kunaijutsu with her trainers, and it has reached the ears of the elders of the clan.

They have expressed their wish to see you for themselves; so here you are now, being stuffed into formal wear.

"Stop squirming so much, Hibiki," mumbles your sister as she fiddles with the sash tying your kimono together. Tying a knot is an esoteric art you cannot comprehend, no matter what. Your sister tries to teach you with her 'rabbit goes around the tree and into the hole' analogy, but the words completely fly over your head.

You fidget as your sister brushes your hair with long strokes.

"Nee-chan, your own hair is like a crow's nest! Why do I need to brush mine...auww!"

Hikari bullies you into silence with some liberal cheek pulling.

And then, you're done.

Err...ignore the cat ears...

Your big sister again has that flushed look on her face as she looks you over. Summer in the Land of Fire could get particularly hot, and you suppose today is warm enough to affect your heat-sensitive sister.

"Are you feeling alright, Hikari-nee?" you ask while pressing a hand to her red cheeks. They're rather warm...

"Y-yes!" she yelps out. "Let's go, you gotta meet an elder!"

《~》

You try not to fidget nervously as your great-grandmother holds your chin in her bony grasp, peering into your eyes with her own.

"Hmm. You have good eyes, boyo," she rasps. "I think you're ready."

You nod politely, but internally you think that looking into someones eyes is a weird method of determining their readiness for learning the ninja arts.

That, and the fact that elder Shigure, your great-grandma, looks ready to keel over any moment.

Most Uchiha children begin their training at the age of five and you aren't too far off from that. So, you've been slotted to join a few of your slightly older cousins in their daily instructions.

Roll: 1, 9

Your first lessons are in manipulating chakra.

It is the lifeblood of shinobi, allowing all the incredible feats they are capable of. Chakra manipulation must be started young as the pathways close with disuse as a child grows older. Too young however, and there's the risk of damaging the child's chakra pathways.

The Uchiha are an ancient clan of ninja with a history long enough to be traced back to the age of myth. Over centuries of trial and error, your clan has perfected the method of training their children- and the adequate age for learning to mold chakra was determined to be around five.

The training room is a dojo of sorts with polished wooden floorboards and practice mats. Including you, there are seven Uchiha children here- all cleared for training by one Uchiha elder or another.

You struggle in the first few days.

Your instructor asks you all to meditate, to find and tug on that warm feeling, but they might as well have been empty words to you. Whenever you attempt to reach that higher state of mind, you find yourself falling asleep...

*thwack*

"Ow!"

"Don't fall asleep, Hibiki. Concentrate."

That was easier said than done, but you remain silent and return to your attempts at using your innate power.

Your instructor, Uchiha Ayano, is a fearsome lady with a lethal paper-fan she does not hesitate to use.

On your fourth day of training however, Ayano-sensei grows bored and leaves you to your own devices in the training room. Your fellow disciples are all attempting to meditate and failing, twitching every once in a while.

Since the fan lady isn't here, you do the only plausible thing.

You take a nap.

Your eyes are closed. You relax, listening to your own deep breath.

And then, just before falling beyond that line seperating reality and dreams...

You feel it.

It is a pond, or perhaps a stream, you think at first. Its sound is blocked out by the rushing of blood through your veins. The stream runs faintly beneath the roaring tide of blood, flowing throughout your body and eventually pooling somewhere.

Somewhere in the depths of your gut.

Behind your navel, if you're being precise.

You grab hold of it, and pull.

"Whoa..."

You can feel it. No, you think you can almost hear it now- a faint thrum in sync with the beat of your heart. It's running through your whole body in larger quantities, rushing out like the waters of an opened dam.

The tingling rush makes you feel like you can do anything.

Chakra, you think. This is chakra.

~

Your progress shoots through the roof in the next few days.

By the end of the week, you are capable of making your chakra move around in your body according to your will. Ayano-sensei accompanies you on your visit to your sponsoring elder after that.

"Certainly not too unprecedented," says great-grandma Shigure, taking a long whiff of her smoking pipe. "But promising. Very promising."

She laughs at you with a creepy look on her face, but you valiantly succeed in not scrambling away in fear.

The Uchiha elder turns to Ayano-sensei, who had knelt primly on the tatami mat beside you. She speaks a simple command after blowing out a trail of smoke. It twists and turns in the air, coiling around in the shape of a dragon.

"Continue his training."

You have some downtime today. It has been a week since you've begun your training.

You are wandering through the streets of the Uchiha heavy part of Southern Konoha, when you first notice the commotion. It is near the largest house in this part of town; the home of the Uchiha clan head.

Being the curious child you are, you near the throng of hushed whispers and grunts. You neatly maneuver through the gaps between the feet of about a dozen members of the military police, to see what was happening.

Lord Fugaku stands imperiously at the gates of his home, dressed in the distinctive flak jacket of the commander of the military police. He must've just returned from duty, since it was around afternoon.

Infront of him, there is a boy. No, a teenager.

He is kneeling, head bowed, but that is not what draws your attention. You observe the shock of grey hair rising upwards and the odd cloth mask that covers half his face. No, even more; only one eye is visible.

You remember this description of grey hair and face masks from somewhere. It's at the tip of your tongue, but unwilling to come out any further.

There is another man beside the teen whom you guess to be a jounin from the heavy flak jacket he wears. Golden haired and blue eyed- a Yamanaka perhaps? Your big sister often gives you inpromptu lessons on Konoha's other clans when she talks about her classmates at the academy, and you remember the description of the Yamanaka being light haired and azure eyed.

"...it was his last wish..."

"...cannot allow..."

You frown as you hear a few snippets of the conversation. It sounds serious, but you cannot make sense out of the few words you hear.

"Come inside," Lord Fugaku finally says, perhaps mindful of the growing crowd. "This is a grave matter I cannot decide upon without further discussion."

They go inside the clan head's house, probably to talk it out further.

"What were they talking about?" you ask a military police officer near you.

Rolled 32; DC 40
Failure.

He blinks, unsure of what to say. Then he runs a hand across his face and sighs.

"Look kid, you don't wanna hear this," he says kindly, if not a bit sternly. His expression softens a bit, "Hibiki, right? Shin and Mio's son?"

"Yeah," you reply.

He looks sad for a moment, as he gazes at the closed doors of Lord Fugaku's home. The windows are too far away to look into, and the blinds are all drawn shut anyway.

You squint. Is that one window slightly open?

"Listen...you'll eventually learn about the matter sooner or later. For now," he says while ruffling your hair, "It's best if you don't hear this."

What do you do?

[ ] Insist. Come on, tell me, pwease? *teary eyes*

[ ] Find someone else to ask. There are others around who must've heard...

[ ] Go home. Eh, you guess it can wait.

[ ] Snoop around. You see a few Uchiha talking in hushed whispers, though slowly rising in volume. You could try listening in?

[ ] Sneak around the dragon's den. Sneak up to the window and try to listen in from there...

Chakra Control - Dreadful (0/10) → Worthless (0/50)

Your great grandmother is Uchiha Shigure, a clan elder.

Your father and mother are Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Mio. Currently out fighting in the war.

Epsilon · May 20, 2016

"Listen, you'll eventually learn about the matter sooner or later. For now," he says while ruffling your hair, "It's best if you don't hear this."

Roll 37 + 10; Pass

You stare at him, lips trembling and eyes threatening to burst into waterworks any moment.

"Come on, don't look at me like that!" the officer says in an exasperated tone. He glances in the direction of the clan head's house once more, and then sighs.

"That was Hatake Kakashi and Namikaze Minato," he says after a pause.

Kakashi? That Jerk Kakashi? Isn't he-

"Obito's teammate, that boy."

"Where's Obito nii-san then?" you ask.

The man grimaces, and you have a sudden feeling that you're not gonna like what comes next.

"Obito's dead, kid."

Huh.

No. No way...that can't be right?

"Died saving the Hatake boy on their mission."

Obito nii-san can't be dead! You refuse to believe it. Obito must be in his house, resting...or maybe he's hard at work in the training grounds. He isn't dead. He can't be dead.

"He also apparently gave one of his newly awakened sharingan to the Hatake," the officer says with distaste. "Lying bloodline stealing scum. He won't get away with this..."

He says a few more things, but you don't listen.

You are already running...

Running to Obito nii-san's house.

He'll be there, won't he? He'll be there with a smile on his face, and then he'll pull out an ice cream cone for you from hs fridge...

You reach the apartment building Obito lives in and scramble up the stairs to the first floor. You dig out the spare key from the flowerpot beside the door with nary a thought, and jam it in in.

The door swings open at your push.

And there's no one inside. It is a small apartment, and you've been here enough times to know the layout. No shoes at the entrance, no orange goggles on the nightstand in the lone bedroom.

There are a bunch of nightclothes scattered on the ground- probably how he left them before leaving on his mission.

You turn to the window, open it, and jump.

A week ago you would've probably broken your legs or maybe even die, but you've come a long way since then. You subconsciously pull on your chakra and perfect the landing, before setting off to the one other place Obito could be found.

The training grounds.

The second Uchiha training ground was used by genin and chunin; that's where Obito trained. There are no guards at the gate to stop you.

You rush in.

And there is no one within.

You roam the place, careful not to step on any piece of stray metal. You look left and right, checking behind every tree and bush.

Empty.

The Naka river runs through the grounds. You are walking along its bank, when you catch something in the corner of your eyes.

"Obito nii-san?"

The dark hair and coal grey eyes gives you hope for a moment, but no, the person is too young.

It is only your reflection on the waters of the river.

Obito...

He's really dead, isn't he.

You take a seat at that spot, holding your face in your hands. Wetness rubs at your palms, but you keep hiding yourself from the world.

You're crying.

Must be the dust in the air. Obito nii-san never cries after all!

Your cousin is dead.

"Then let's make a promise, Hibiki...
We'll make the Uchiha great, or die trying, okay?"

Obito nii-san had died trying...

Roll 66
Limit reached.

Your eyes burn, a steadily rising pressure beneath your closed eyelids. You open them, and stare at your reflection in the river.

Your eyes are red.

Not from your tears, but something else. Your irides are a glowing crimson, and you realise what you're looking at when you feel the drain on your chakra reserves.

Sharingan.

It is the true manifestation of the Uchiha bloodline. The mirror eyes, the heavenly eyes that see the truth of the world- there are many such distinctions for the revered eyes you now possess.

You know the real worth of the sharingan.

It is nothing more than a tool. Your cousin is dead, as he had no idea how to use it.

Obito had awakened his sharingan, but it didn't help him stay alive. It is a weapon in the same way a kunai or a sword is; deadly in the right hands, but worthless to one who does not know how to use it. A weapon does not make a man truly powerful; it's the other way around.

The sharp clarity of the world around you fades away as you force your eyes to return to normal, cutting off the flow of chakra through your occular pathways. You then trudge home- weary, but determined.

Obito is dead, but you're still alive. You'll hold up your end of the promise.

You'll make the Uchiha great...

Obito's funeral was held a day later near the hero memorial.

You see his sensei, the blonde man giving some sort of speech, but the words slide around your ears. You couldn't care less about him. He didn't even bring back a body to bury; Obito's corpse is now rotting somewhere in the depths of Grass country.

Lord Fugaku stands near the blonde man. He was dressed in the traditional haori of the leader of the Uchiha clan over his funeral kimono; his expression cool and betraying nothing.

The thief, Hatake Kakashi is also present. He stands to another side with some of Obito's friends from the academy, clearly aware of the glares sent his way by more than a few of the Uchiha.

You don't know how, but he and his sensei somehow convinced Lord Fugaku to let him keep Obito's sharingan. The injustice of it makes you clench your fists tightly, but you can't help but wonder how it looks...

Your sister draws you close to her side and grabs hold of one of your hands with her own.

"Are you alright, Hibiki?" Hikari asks softly. You say nothing, but you grasp her hand a bit more tightly.

The funeral is nearly over. What do you do?

[ ] Walk up to Hatake Kakashi and ask to see Obito's eye

[ ] Ask the blonde man why he didn't bring back Obito's body

[ ] Ask Lord Fugaku why he allowed the thief to keep Obito's eye

[ ] Just...go home

You have 10 exp to spend for the next month.

[ ] Chakra Control - Worthless (0/50)

[ ] Taijutsu - Dreadful (0/10)

[ ] Kunai Throwing - Worthless (0/50)

[ ] Running - Dreadful (0/10)

[ ] Ninjutsu - Dreadful (0/10)

Vote for exp in plan format. For example:

[ ] Plan Example
-[ ] Chakra Control - 3
-[ ] Taijutsu - 3
-[ ] Ninjutsu - 4

Trait discovered: Adorable Child. Adds +10 modifier to persuasion checks.

Bloodline awakened: Sharingan (single tomoe)

+1 exp to Chakra Control. Someone roll a 1d10.

Epsilon · May 22, 2016

You see the blonde man standing at one corner. There's something you need to know; a question you're burning to ask. And only this man, Obito's sensei, has the answers.

Namikaze Minato. You'll remember that name.

The man is accompanied by his lone female student when you decide to walk up towards him.

"Hibiki? Where are you going?" your sister asks.

"Give me a minute," you reply back. You are thankful when your sister chooses not to follow.

The jounin notices you when you're almost near him. He gives you an earnest smile full of twinkling eyes; his golden hair and blue eyes are a different sort of perfection than the flawless paper and ink colors of the Uchiha.

"Hey there kiddo. You need something?"

You nod.

"You're Obito nii-san's sensei, Namikaze Minato."

"I am," he says with a slightly sadder look.

"I want to know something," you begin. He indicates you to continue, so you do.

"Tell me then, Namikaze Minato..."

You look him straight in the eye.

"Why didn't you bring back nii-san's body?"

It wasn't a question he expected from a child that's for sure. You see the girl beside him, Rin, frown at you.

"Ah. Well, Obito was buried beneath the cave system of Kannabi Pass when it was destroyed," Minato says with a sigh. "I had two other students with me- one who had just had an eye transplant, and the other still recovering after being captured by Iwa-nin."

"So you left Obito there, rotting in the grounds of a country not his own."

He's again taken aback. Rin opens her mouth to say something, but Namikaze-san is already speaking.

"I needed to get Kakashi and Rin out of there," he says, almost pleadingly. "I'd already lost one student. I couldn't bear to lose any more, could I? And Obito would never forgive me if I let his teammates die."

"You could've used some jutsu to dig him out quickly before leaving. Aren't you a jounin?"

"It would've taken a lot of time to dig through. The whole cave system had collapsed," Rin replies uncertainly. You don't let up however.

"Why didn't you go back then? After you brought them to a Konoha outpost why didn't you go back? You left him there..."

"Sensei needs to rest too," Rin says after a pause. The excuse sounds flimsy, and she looks embarassed the more you stare at her. "He's been fighting whole armies on his own!"

You snort. You've heard enough excuses for the day.

"He's right Rin," you hear the jounin say despondently. "No matter the reason, I should've gone back..."

"Nii-san was a good person, so he'd never begrudge you for leaving him behind. But here's the thing," you say while staring straight at their eyes, "I hate you."

Rin flinches, but Namikaze Minato looks strangely resolute.

"You're right to begrudge me. Let me make a promise to you then, kid."

You're eerily reminded of Obito's last words to you when he speaks of a promise...

"I'll go back to find Obito's body, no matter what."

You will hold him to that. And you hope that he's better at keeping his promises than your dead cousin.

You turn around and walk away. Perhaps Obito's sensei might turn out to be a decent man after all...

"Hey, I never got your name," he calls back.

You glance over your shoulder.

"It's Hibiki. Uchiha Hibiki."

Taijutsu 1d10 → 2
Running 1d10 → 4
Ninjutsu 1d10 → 6
Kunai Throwing 1d10 → 9
Chakra Control 6d10 → 24

Your clan training is slowly expanded beyond chakra lessons.

"A good ninja must be strong in both body and mind," drones on Ayano-sensei while you lie awkwardly on the ground. "Clearly you need work in the former, Hibiki."

Some of your cousins giggle in the back of the training dojo and you scowl at them.

You are younger than your fellow trainees by a year or so, and you've never been the most active kid on the block throughout your short life. Most of your afternoons had been spent lazing around on a warm patch of grass beneath a big tree, or perhaps playing hide and seek- where you often fell asleep while hiding.

The intense exercise you've been put through to hone your body does not really agree with your habits. Your arms hang uselessly at your sides due to the uncountable punches you've been made to throw, and your legs feel like lead from the hour long jog you had prior.

There's one bright point to it however. Nee-chan gives you a piggyback when she comes to take you home.

"Taijutsu is hard, Hikari-nee," you mumble into her hair. It's still cool and slighly wet from the shower she must've taken before coming to pick you up. Though you're sweaty from training, your sister has no qualms about carrying you on her back.

"You've got time," she says in a slightly amused tone. "You're just a child now; all you have to do is to work hard and keep improving."

"I remember my own first taijutsu lessons," she says wistfully. "I was the best there was! Except for that brat Shisui..."

Your sister grumbles at the end.

Shisui is one of your older cousins, around four years older than you. You don't know him too well, except for the fact that he's a genius and the strongest Uchiha kid in his generation.

The strongest Uchiha...

Hn.

You'll have to surpass Shisui on your path to greatness. He's a prodigy in the ninja arts and has years on you, but you think you're a rather smart kid yourself. That, and you have something to bridge the gap.

Your face is hidden in your sister's hair, so no one notices the flicker of crimson in your eyes...

《~》

You stare into the mirror, observing the slowly rotating tomoe of your sharingan.

There's a noticeable drain in your reserves whenever you turn it on; you can feel the chakra moving upwards and through your occular pathways.

You practice with your eyes whenever you're alone- mostly in the bathroom when you shower, even if it feels a bit silly to do so. The bathroom is the most secret place in the world after all!

Roll: 27

The daily drain of your chakra has noticeably increased the amount of your reserves, though not by much. Just enough to understand the difference.

You haven't told anyone about your sharingan.

It just feels wrong to reveal it to the world. Obito nii-san had spent his whole life yearning for these eyes, and you gained them from his death...

You also know that it's not common to awaken your eyes at the age of four. Hikari nee-chan is nine, and even she doesn't have the sharingan as far as you know.

If you do reveal your eyes now, you won't show them to anyone but nee-chan.

Will you reveal your eyes to your sister?

[ ] Yes Chances of getting bad attention from some bad, bad people. On the other hand, specialised training.

[ ] NoNo one will know. Your eyes will remain a secret till you decide to show them.

"Your sister wasn't exaggerating when she said you had some talent at throwing weapons," Ayano-sensei complimented.

Your throwing skills can certainly be polished further, but your accuracy is impressive for a mere beginner.

"You must have good eyes," Ayano-sensei mused.

Well, she isn't wrong. You do have better eyes than others your age.

《~》

Near the end of the month, you are finally introduced to Ninjutsu.

"The term ninjutsu covers a wide array of disciplines in the usage of chakra," your sensei explained. "When you use chakra to directly affect the world around you, then you're performing ninjutsu..."

You learn the twelve standard handseals required for molding chakra. Each of them affect your chakra someway; you can feel the difference in the flow when you perform a seal properly.

In over a month of training in various ninja arts, you've noticed the most improvement in your skill at manipulating chakra. You aren't too surprised; it's what you do with most of your spare time after all.

Practicing your control barely takes any effort. You merely close your eyes and shift the flow of energy in your body with but a thought.

You need to improve on other aspects of being a ninja too however. Maybe you could focus more on a single skill? Or perhaps you could spread your time and effort evenly...

What to do?

You have 12 exp for the next month. Vote for exp in plans, like always.

[ ] Chakra Control - Worthless (33/50)

[ ] Ninjutsu - Dreadful (6/10)

[ ] Taijutsu - Dreadful (2/10)

[ ] Running - Dreadful (4/10)

[ ] Kunai Throwing - Worthless (9/50)

Improving extensively in your chakra control at such a young age has led to the development of a talent.

??? (1/3)

Something occurs in the next month. Choose any two events:

[ ] You are convinced by Shisui to help him out with something...

[ ] You are summoned to Lord Fugaku's home one afternoon.

[ ] Nee-chan's friends meet you!

[ ] You decide to visit the playground. It's been a while.

[ ] You meet that black and white tabby cat you saved from a tree a while back. This time, it's stuck atop a streetlamp...

[ ] ??? (Random Event by dice)

Nohara Rin thinks you're a brat.

Minato Namikaze went back to Grass Country to search for Obito's dead body...

The Third Ninja war nears its end.

Epsilon · May 23, 2016

Interlude:

The Hunt - Part I

《~》

Namikaze Minato stalked through the winding halls of the Hokage Tower. That little boy's words had struck him more than he'd guessed; the thoughts of recovering Obito's remains had plagued his mind throughout the week.

Neither the secretary manning the reception desk nor the four Anbu operatives hiding along the wallpapers did anything to stop him when he strode towards the Hokage's chamber.

He was one of the preferati after all. One of the few ninja most likely to lift the heavy mantle of the Hokage from the Sandaime's weary shoulders. Namikaze Minato was a possible Yondaime Hokage.

His name carried quite a bit of weight these days and opened far too many doors for his liking. Before, he was merely a talented young Jounin, the legendary Jiraiya's apprentice.

The Third Ninja War changed that. Rather, his actions during the war did. He was no longer just Jiraiya-sensei's student; the shadow of the Yellow Flash ran much longer than that of the Legendary Three. Minato had carved out his own legend from the corpses of a thousand men and women. He had painted a masterpiece with the dull crimson of spilled blood.

"Come on in, Minato," spoke the weathered voice from beyond the door even before he knocked. He entered the room at a brisk pace. Politely, he bowed his head before his aged kage, and then took a seat at one of the chairs lining the ancient oaken desk.

Sarutobi Hiruzen reclined in his own ornately carved throne, remniscent of a warrior king of old in his red and white regalia. An intricately built pipe hung from his lips; the scent of burned cinnamon hung in the air.

"I need a requisition, sir," Minato approached the topic without any hesitation.

"What for?" asked the Sandaime while breathing out a thin trail of hazy smoke.

"A recovery mission," Minato replied. He fidgeted a bit, before adding, "It's a personal mission. Sir."

The Sandaime chose not to speak for a moment, while Minato stared at him with earnest eyes. He finally sighed.

"Very well," Sarutobi mused. "Your work has been nothing short of exemplary, ever since you walked into the academy and started writing on the walls with a red crayon."

The younger man had the decency to look a tad embarassed and apologetic at that.

"I'm certainly not above favouritism," the Sandaime continued, while his eyes took on the mischievous glint of a conniving geezer, "And you're luckily one of the few whelps this old man will pull strings for, hm?"

"Thanks old man! You're the best!" Minato grinned, respect all but forgotten.

"What do you need?" the reigning Hokage asked.

"Trackers. It'll be short term; nothing more than a day at best. A Hyuga and an Inuzuka would do."

The Hokage circled through a list of names in his mind, before making a complicated gesture at yet another Anbu hidden among furniture. The operative emerged smoothly and headed to the window.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu," he whispered while pressing his hand to a wall. The spiderweb-like imprint of the summoning seal spread out across the wall, and a small messenger falcon emerged from within.

The Anbu tapped out a code on the bird's back, after which it flew out the window to presumably fetch his requested team.

"They'll be here within ten minutes at most. Care for a cup of tea?" asked Sarutobi nonchalantly while pouring over a stack of documents on his desk. "Incidentally, you could look over a few of my yet to be done work. The red stamp goes on the ones you don't like, by the way."

Minato said nothing and pulled the stack towards himself. He supposed he could allow the Sandaime to dupe him into doing his paperwork once in a while.

"So? Where are we going, Namikaze?" asked he cool voice of the Hyuga he'd been assigned.

"He's just a bit grumpy that you're the hotshot jounin these days," the Inuzuka added after barking out a short laugh. She then turned speculative, "I must admit though, I also wanna know where we're heading."

Minato remained silent for a moment, concentrating to find a marked seal tag in his desired destination. He waved through the hundreds of blips in his mental grid, and eventually located the one he needed.

Gotcha.

I'll bring back what's left of your cousin to you, Uchiha Hibiki.

He opened his eyes.

"Hizashi, Tsume," he addressed them with a slight smile. "We're heading to Kusa."

His arms snapped out and grabbed them both on the collar before they could react.

They vanished in a flicker of yellow.
.
.
.

Kuromaru stared at the spot where his partner and her team had just been in.

"They left me behind..."

《~》

Regular update after this. Part two will come out after that.

*preferati - one of the jounin elite selected as a canditate for succeeding the current Hokage. I decided to use the term as it sounds fancy...

Epsilon · May 24, 2016

You decide to reveal your eyes to your sister.

Hikari has always been there for you for as long as you can remember. She played with you when you had been a babe, and took the responsibility for your care when your parents left for war- despite being child herself. You nee-chan deserves to know about your sharingan.

Hikari-nee trains fervently in the grounds these days due to her upcoming graduation exams. She doesn't mind when you follow her one day; she only grins and ruffles your hair. You pick a spot beneath a cherry blossom tree, and curl up on a patch of soft grass and fallen petals to watch your sister train.

Nee-chan dances with the wind. Cherry blossom petals floating in the air are occasionally displaced by her sweeping feet. The only sounds you hear are that of fists cutting through air, and the heavy breaths of exertion.

Your eyes flicker crimson on occasions your sister is too focused to notice. You can't help but watch her movements in awe; the sharp clarity of the sharingan picks apart every shift of muscle and limb.

You watch, and you learn.

The sharingan teaches on its own. You know with certainty that if you try, you can replicate your sister's movements yourself despite never having done them before.

You spend your time sprawled out beneath the blossom tree. The sun shifts overhead, and your sister stops when it's far to the west.

Nee-chan decides to rest at the bank of the Naka river, which passes through the grounds. She dips her feet into the slightly warm water and laughs when you fail to do the same; your legs fall short by just a bit...

"There there. Your legs won't remain that little forever!"

You huff and look away. The waning yellow light of the afternoon almost lulls you to sleep; you lean against nee-chan's shoulders. She pulls an arm around you and hums a faintly familiar song.

There's no one around as far as you know. You decide that there's no better time to tell her.

Roll 36+30 →66
Critical.

"Nee-chan?" you ask softly.

"Mm?"

She stops humming her tune to look at you.

"I have something to show you," you say almost shyly. "I haven't shown it to anyone else..."

Your sister looks curious, and then she smiles. "Show me then."

You look straight at her eyes, the same shade of flinty coal like your own. They widen when they see what you know to be a fascinating sight. Your coal eyes bloom with motes of red firelight, which swirl and become a perpetual crimson. A single tomoe, just as dark as the pupil in the centre, revolves lazily around it.

"Sharingan..." your sister whispers. "Hibiki...how did you...?"

You look away and stare at the river, watching the pinpricks of red in your reflection.

"They awoke a bit more than a month ago," you say after a pause. "When Obito nii-san died."

Your sister pulls you into a hug, resting her chin on top of your head.

"You were really fond of him weren't you?" she asks softly.

"Yeah," you mumble in affirmation. Obito had been your favourite cousin, but he had been more than just that. He was your role model; someone you looked up to. You can almost hear an echo of his last words in the wind whenever you think about it.

We'll make the Uchiha great or die trying, okay?

That's one promise you intend to keep...

"You should show your sharingan to someone higher up in the clan," Hikari finally says.

It doesn't feel fair to you that Obito nii-san never had the sharingan throughout most of his life- but here you are, sitting with the eyes you gained from his death.

Perhaps she notices your unwillingness, as Hikari explains further. "You won't learn to use them on your own as easily as you will if you're taught by the clan. This is Obito's last gift to you; you should use it well, hm?"

You think on it for a moment and nod in acceptance.

"Okay."

Hikari grins, and hugs you tighter.
You're growing up so fast, Hibiki...

Your sister is right.

You need to ask someone to teach you.

The sharingan is just a tool after all. A tool you need to master...

+2 exp to Taijutsu

Learned Standard Konoha-ryu Taijutsu

Rolls with Hikari gain a bonus of 35 instead of 30

Taijutsu 5d10》+22
Chakra Control 5d10》+33
Running 2d10》+12

You put in a bit more effort into your physical training throughout the week.

Perhaps it is because of the moves you copied from Hikari or your own dilligence, but you show markedly more improvement in taijutsu. Your forms are more crisp and precise, held back only by your lack of reach and power.

Your intense physical conditioning seems to be working. You can keep practicing taijutsu more and run longer distances.

"Sensei, why is running so important?" you ask once during a run circling the market district.

Ayano-sensei snorts. "Silly boy. A ninja lives on his legs! Be it a mission somewhere within Konoha or somewhere as far as Snow, you'll run there on your legs!"

Oh. Okay.

Your rapidly rising control over chakra doesn't surprise Ayano-sensei too much anymore. You can feel your chakra and make it move; it's just something that comes naturally now.

When Sensei demonstrates how to stick a leaf on her forehead, you feel her chakra movements. You can even understand how she expells it through her tenketsu.

With proper concentration, you move your chakra like your sensei with little effort. The thin layer of energy that emerges from the surface of your skin has adhesive properties- and allows a leaf to stay stuck on.

In the quiet moments when you meditate and practice your control, you also wonder.

Perhaps you could go to Ayano-sensei with your sharingan? Or perhaps your great-grandma Shigure, who would certainly be more knowledgeable on the subject of your clan's bloodline. But a different opportunity comes your way before you can decide.

You are summoned to Lord Fugaku's home for an audience...

The police force grunt who delivers the message looks at you with suspicious eyes.

"What's a pipsqueak like you got to do with Fugaku-sama himself?" he asks.

He then looks at you with even more suspicion.

"Was it you who busted in through the vents of the police headquarters last week, and broke a window to escape with the boss's son?"

What.

"No!" Who would even do that?

"Just asking," the messenger replies with a shrug.

《~》

Nee-chan is still at class, so you go out alone.

The clan head's house is really pretty, you think.

There are wisteria flowers growing to the sides of the walls- and is that a koi pond!?
Fishies! You want to play with fishies! Nyaaa~

"Come on in," Uchiha Fugaku says simply from the door. There's a small smile at the corner of his lips when he sees you looking at the pond.

You marvel at the feeling of the polished wooden floorboards beneath your feet. The inside of the house is mostly a stark white, with often recurring little splashes of color like the red of a painted fan, or the violet crystals of a heart-shaped wind chime.

Uchiha Mikoto gracefully saunters around the dining room with something in her hands. It looks like a box of ice cream, you think after peering carefully.

"Oh hello dear," she says warmly when she notices you. You greet her back, while internally wondering how the hell she moved around at all with her massive round belly. That must be an a secret kunoichi jutsu. You'll have to ask nee-chan.

Lord Fugaku slides open one of the intricate rice paper doors, and guides you to what you assume is the sitting room.

"Hello Itachi," you greet the solemn boy sitting on one of the cushions.

Uchiha Itachi blinks back at you, before offering a slight smile.

"Hello Hibiki," he says while you take a seat. "It's been a while."

That it has. You and Itachi knew each other in passing like all Uchiha children tend to do; you've played a few games of hide and seek together a while back. You haven't visited the local park the last two months however, and Itachi had rarely showed up even before that. He must've begun his clan training at the time.

"I've heard good things about you from Ayano, young Hibiki," Fugaku says after clearing his throat a little. "Exceptionally keen in controlling your chakra since you begun training it not too long ago; a natural hand at kunaijutsu. You've shown much promise."

You felt a little shy at the praise. The clan head himself was praising you...

"I've decided that you'll accompany my son in his daily endeavours."

Huh.

Itachi echoes your sentiment.

Fugaku reaches out to pat Itachi's head, and the boy has an uncharacteristic pout.

"Shisui usually carries out the role of being Itachi's right hand, but that boy is a bit too wild. You seem like a sensible kid; I'm hoping you'll be a calmer influence on the both of them."

Traditionally, the heir to the clan is assigned a conpanion; a confidante and later bodyguard their age. It is a position of great honor, you know.

Someday, when Itachi will rule as clan head, you'll be one of his right hand men.

You don't know Shisui too well beyond his reputation as a genius; though he seemed quite cheery the few times you'd seen him.

You wonder if he has anything to do with kidnapping Itachi and the broken window...

The thought is quickly shaken from your head as you focus on your alternate purpose in coming here.

"Lord Fugaku," you begin. "There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" he asks.

For the second time, you reveal your eyes. You see him raise his eyebrows, and Itachi stare wide eyed.

"I awoke the sharingan," you say in an unwavering tone. Uchiha Fugaku's own eyes spin awake, though his are fully matured with three tomoe. His eyes gaze at you, searching for something.

"There are cases," he says slowly, "Rare ones, where a child awakens the sharingan too early. The eyes are damaged, and slowly degenerate."

He gestures at your own set. "Yours seem to have no such irregularities thankfully. How long have you had them?"

"A bit more than a month," you reply.

Fugaku thinks on it a bit, but doesn't ask anything further. He doesn't ask what caused your eyes to wake.

Perhaps he guessed.

"This changes things," he muses out loud while tapping his fingers absently. He then looks at you.

"I will make arrangements. You will join Itachi and train under my own tutelage."

Itachi smiles slightly at you. "Shisui also joins in from time to time."

The clan head himself will train you! You feel a bit out of your depth.

"Thank you, Lord Fugaku," you reply at a lack of finding anything else to say. "I will...try to live up to your expectations."

Your clan head smirks.

"You either do or do not, boy. There is no try."

You walk out of the clan head's house, ogle the koi pond a bit more, and then make your way home.

You're halfway there when a sound stops you.

"Meow."

It came from above.

With a strange feeling of deja vu, you look up to see a black and white tabby cat- stuck atop a streetlamp this time.

"Oh. It's you," you say dully.

The cat meows with a sad look in its eyes. How did it even get up there? You see no footholds on the smooth metal surface of the pole, and the adjacent wall to it is too low for the cat to jump up from.

Your hero complex urges you to again save the cat, but you're a bit stumped on how to do it.

Wait...

[ ] Use your knowledge of Leaf Sticking to attempt climbing up

[ ] Try to persuade the cat to jump down into your arms

[ ] Chakra allows you to jump much higher heights than normal. Climb up the wall and leap off it in a daring move...

~~[ ] Find someone else to do it?~~ (Negated by Trait Into The Fray)

Uchiha Fugaku himself will oversee your training from this point. You have 20 exp to use.

Vote in plan format for training-

[ ] Taijutsu - Worthless (14/50)

[ ] Running - Worthless (6/50)

[ ] Chakra Control - Novice (16/100)

[ ] Ninjutsu - Dreadful (6/10)

[ ] Genjutsu - Dreadful (0/10)

[ ] Kunai Throwing - Worthless (9/50)

《~》

Taijutsu - Dreadful (2/10) → Worthless (14/50)

Running - Dreadful (4/10) → Worthless (6/50)

Chakra Control - Worthless (33/50) → Novice (16/100)

??? Talent Progression (2/3)

Helping out Shisui would have ended with you wrapped up in rope and face to face with a disapproving Fugaku in his office in the military police headquarters.

Nee-chan would've then spanked you once you'd returned home.

^_^

You've gained the title The Uchiha Prodigy. You possess exceptional talent in the ninja arts, and have successfully awakened your bloodline at an unprecedented age. Great things are expected of you, little Uchiha.

*You have copied the Standard Leaf Style taijutsu from your sister.

+2 Taijutsu exp gained. Someone roll a 2d10.

Epsilon · May 27, 2016

Interlude:

The Hunt - Part II

《~》

"I can't believe you forgot me," growled the massive black wolfhound, while Tsume chuckled.

"I'm sorry, Kuromaru," Minato said in an apologetic tone, though there was a glint of mirth in his eyes. He had returned immediately to get the dog once his absence was noted.

Minato's eyes then turned slightly more serious. "What can you sense?"

The thick muscles in the ninken's neck tensed and rippled as he moved his snout around in the air and ground. "No one's been here for days," he finally said. "Now there's only us, and the maggots feasting upon the rotting corpses below."

Minato grimaced slightly at the words. One of those corpses was his student after all.

Kuromaru's scent tracking and Hizashi's initial sweep confirmed that there was no recent movement in the area. Minato then traced the ruins of the cave-in by memory, to determine an approximate location.

A bit to a side, Inuzuka Tsume looked around at her surroundings. It was nearly a mountain of rubble on its own, sloping down to fall into the barren ravine that was spanned by the Kannabi bridge just a few weeks ago. A natural border between Kusa and Iwa that stretched around as far as her eyes could see.

In ancient times, it must've been quite the deep river, Tsume mused. The walls were smooth yellow sandstone in some places and reddish clay in others; features often observed in the landforms spanning Earth and Grass country. Forests of pine and cedar towered above, providing ample cover for a shinobi to move through unseen.

There were bits of shubbery and twisted vines on the slope of their side of the gorge, slowly clearing down as it went deeper and deeper. Further east, awaited the shattered edge of what once used to be a way across.

Kannabi-kyo. The bridge where the gods do not help.

Tsume couldn't see the bottom of the ravine clearly, and she was glad for it. She wondered if Hizashi could see all the bones that must've accumulated at the bottom from decades of people falling over.

"...Obito remained approximately there. Half a kilometer in; you want a closer look?" drifted along the voice of Namikaze Minato.

"No, I can see fine from here," spoke Hizashi in a clipped yet slightly amused tone. Veins and blood vessels around his eyes bulged, shifting outwards due to influx of chakra through the pathways.

The Byakugan saw all. It pierced through layers of fallen mountain rocks, focusing in a particular direction. Despite the cave-in, certain ways in which the debris was positioned allowed him to trace an approximate path of what had been the actual cave.

He knew he was on the right track when he saw the first body; decomposing and maggot-infested like Kuromaru had so aptly put. Years of practice allowed him to move past the initial revulsion and scan the body for identifiers. It had a dented forehead protector- barely identifiable as one of Iwa's.

Hizashi moved on. He disregarded bones too old to be a recent death, and found yet another Iwa-nin corpse in the vicinity.

His lips pressed in consternation while his eyes continued searching for the Uchiha boy.

For a moment, something flickered in the outer edge of his range. There was nothing out of place when he shifted his focus; nothing but the fibery roots of Kusa's usual undergrowth. No traces of chakra lingering around either; so Hizashi reluctantly disregarded whatever he'd glimpsed as a figment of his troubled mind.

"Found something?" Minato asked, having noticed his reaction.

"No..." the Hyuga trailed off. "Your student doesn't seem to be in the approximate area. I'll look around a bit further."

Minato's expression grew grim, having reached the logical conclusion. Hizashi believed in the same possibility of the body being missing, but he wanted to make sure.

A cursory sweep of the area revealed nothing, though he had almost seen something again. Was it his paranoia or actual danger? Neither the Inuzuka nor her absurdly large hound had noticed anything.

While his sensory bloodline relied on visual perception, theirs worked with auditory and olfactory senses. Namikaze also possessed sensory ninjutsu of his own; the list of things he couldn't do was incredibly short.

Between them all, nothing should be able to avoid detection.

Reassuring himself, Hizashi rapidly shifted his focus back to the estimated area and picked up minor bits and pieces of details- like the shattered fragments of kunai, torn pieces of decomposing leather and the like. Signs of the battle that had no doubt occured there.

There were multiple bodies lying around, but not a single one of them were that of a teenage male from Konoha.

He frowned, as he focused on the soil. To ordinary eyes there would be nothing out of place; but his eyes were anything but. He curiously observed a lone cluster of maggots in a certain spot, drawn there by something.

Blood.

A few miniscule fragments of shattered bone were spread throughout the area. The bits were too small to notice with ordinary eyes, but the Byakugan saw them. They must've been buried into the soil at impact; and the blood from the injury that had seeped into the ground was what called the parasites, even though there was no body left.

Uchiha Obito's corpse had been stolen.

"Namikaze," he begun with a grimace. "The body was-"

Hizashi's words were cut off as there was another movement somewhere behind him.

And then, a pitch black arm emerged through his chest.

Hizashi spat out blood, dimly hearing Kuromaru's roar and Tsume's shout. Namikaze Minato stared at him with wide blue eyes, the wicked edge of a tri-pronged kunai already flipping up to his hand.

He saw all that, but his gaze was on the thing that had snuck up on him.

It couldn't be a living creature. It had no chakra...

The black and white man grinned from behind him.

"Hello," it greeted amusedly.

"And goodbye."

《~》

AN: Sorry Neji. It was FATE.

I planned to finish The Hunt in two interludes, but guess it'll take three...

I have a bit of my own spin on how Zetsu avoids detection. Minato will figure it out.

Kannabi bridge in the good days before those darned ruffians from the Leaf blew it up-

*FATE [Foolish Author-Troll Epsilon]

Epsilon · May 29, 2016

The little cat meows again, and you make up your mind.

You know the theory behind the Leaf Sticking exercise- not merely the knowledge on how to do the technique, but the why behind it as well. At a limited amount, chakra exhibits adhesive properties and acts as a bond between different substances.

Closing your eyes, you place your hand on the side of the streetlamp.

The metal surface of the pole is cool against your palm. You focus, willing the power coursing through your veins to emerge. It forced itself out through the pathways beneath your skin, evenly spreading out over the surface with but a thought.

And then, when you try to move your hand, you feel resistance.

You latch around the pole and slowly move up, your hands the only thing allowing proper traction against the smooth metal.

You climb.

Rolled 81
Failure.

You're a bit more than halfway up, when you realise that your coils are straining. Sustaining your body weight requires a constant flow of not an inconsiderable amount of chakra, which heavily taxes on your system. With every passing moment, the flow in your pathways decrease at an alarming rate.

Then it happens. Your body weight finally overcomes the meager pull between flesh and steel.

The little cat mewls worriedly and hides its eyes with its paws.

You lurch backwards, but your legs snap around the metal pole with nothing but instinct. Another twist in your body and blind clutching allows you to grab the steel surface as you go down. It slows your momentum enough.

With a light thump, you fall into the concrete sidewalk; mostly unharmed, but humbled.

"That could've gone better," you grumble while rubbing your slightly sore rump.

"I AGREE. THAT WAS PRETTY PATHETIC."

You jerk and freeze as a voice rumbles from behind with the intensity of booming thunder.

You don't know how you haven't noticed before, but there's a massive shadow stretching out over you and on to the streets. You feel the heavy breath of something large shifting the high collar of the back of your shirt.

Slowly, you turn your head around.

What greets your sight is something you can describe only as a cat monster. It stands tall against the backdrop, taller than the streetlamp. It blots out the dying light from your view by its sheer size alone.

Its fur is a rough white, marked by stripes of black running across its back. There is a similar stripe running down the length of its eyelids and below the gold irides. What interests you most however is its tail.

Rather, its tails. Two of them.

"COME ALONG THEN, FOOLISH SON OF MINE," it roared before plucking out the little cat from atop the streetlamp with a swipe of its paws. With impossible delicateness for something so massive, it holds the smaller creature carefully- and deposits it to the top of its head.

The little cat mewls happily.

"OH? IT SEEMS THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME YOU'VE STEPPED FORWARD TO SAVE MY SON FROM HIS FOOLISH MISADVENTURES," the big cat rumbles out.

Just from the fact that it talks, you have a pretty good idea of what the creature actually is.

"You're a summon," you finally breathe.

"THAT I AM. AND YOU'RE A LITTLE UCHIHA," it grunts. You've seen ninneko lounge around on the walls of the Military Police headquarters, but never have you seen one this big.

You wonder why there isn't more commotion around you- as there's a giant cat standing on one side of the street! However, no one seems to notice it all, not even when its roaring tone rattles a nearby windowpane.

People instinctively move to the other side of the road. They do not see nor hear the massive feline. You see a genin whistling a jaunty tune and strolling down the road, but he doesn't even flinch when a tail thicker than his waist misses his face by inches.

You have your suspicions, and they are confirmed as your eyes swirl crimson.

You see a continuous stream of chakra emerging from the body of the cat monster in a radius that covered most of the street. It hung around like haze, clinging on to any who stepped foot into its domain. The stream of chakra avoided you however; deliberately bending around the area you are seated on.

"You're doing something to everyone, so that they can't see you," you state while slightly scrunching your eyes. "Is that a genjutsu you're using?"

"THAT IT IS," the big cat agrees. "GENJUTSU OF THE WIDE-AREA KIND, TO BE PRECISE."

Your eyes unravel the technique. You see how the cat manipulates the flow of his energy, subtly easing it in into the body of every passerby on the block. You understand the mechanism behind its actions, but you do not become capable of performing the technique yourself; you don't have the knowledge on how to initiate it.

"IT SEEMS YOU POSSESS THOSE EYES. HOW INTERESTING," the beast muses. Its gold eyes judge you on some obscure scale- and you do not know the results.

He turns on his feet with nary a sound except for the happy mewling of the little cat on his head. He turns his face around over his back, showing you a set of scissor-like teeth.

"A RECKLESS, UNTHINKING FOOL YOU ARE, LIKE MY OWN FOOLISH WHELP," it calls out with a chuckle that shakes your very bones. "BUT I FIND YOU INTERESTING NONETHELESS."

His paws come together and the chakra around him shifts, changing into a different form of flow.

"REST ASSURED," the cat drawls with a smile straight from a nightmare, "I WILL KEEP AN EYE ON YOU, LITTLE UCHIHA..."

He bursts into a massive gout of smoke, fading away till not even that terrible grin remained.

There is a minor commotion in the street as numerous people see smole erupt out of nowhere, but you pay it no heed. You pick yourself up from the ground and dust off your pants.

And then, you resume your walk home.

...

Cat summons, huh...

Within the week, word spreads among the Uchiha about their clan head taking on a new pupil. You feel a bit out of depth with the sudden attention you receive; it's not something you're particularly used to.

And then, they learn that you possess the sharingan.

You appreciate the quiet moments of relaxation with Nee-chan all the more; you look forward to the easy silence that reigns when you and Itachi diligently work away beneath Lord Fugaku's instruction.

Your clan head is a demanding teacher. But frankly, he's a better one than Ayano-sensei.

Fugaku trains you with a rigorous yet graspable regime. His instructions are methodical, suited perfectly to the pace you and Itachi can go at. He does not waste time with things you already understand and concepts you already grasp; but he does not skip ahead to lessons beyond your comprehension either.

Mind and body are yet another duality that exists in the world, according to your clan head. Like heaven and earth or light and darkness, he even poetically waxes when he gets into a particular mood.

It is one's physical energy as well as spiritual that works together to form chakra. So your clan head makes you work for both.

He teaches you ninjutsu at a steady pace, showing you how to change the nature of your chakra. Progress is slow at first; you simply cannot learn this by watching with your eyes. This is something you have to learn on your own.

So you do. You practice the Campfire Technique your clan head shows you, eventually becoming capable of producing your own spark of fire.

Itachi began his own training months before you; as such, you fall behind him and his longer legs in the first days of pushing your own to the limits. It doesn't really bother you much; Itachi is no vain, prancing braggadocio, and you yourself are a lather laid back runt.

Chakra allows you to jump from rooftop to rooftop, exploring the red and yellow tiled jungle that was Konoha.

Lord Fugaku gives you two tasks as part of your physical conditioning. He gives you a location to get to, and instructs you to figure out the most convenient route to do so.

The tasks have you running back and forth and learning the layout of the village. Konoha is much larger than you ever imagined.

There's always something new to see; something new to find. There are boundaries and restrictions placed in certain areas, and you gradually learn the limits of where you could, and couldn't tread.

Shisui joins you sometimes for training, though he's at a completely different level from you and Itachi. Other times, he drops in just to hang out.

#ThreeMusketeers

He laughs and soars across three rooftops at once, walking atop the thin edge of a clothesline with his arms stretched around. You have a strange thought that he sort of looks like a crow; his hair like feathers and his smile like the wicked curve of a beak.

"Showoff," Itachi grumbles. Then he attempts to do the same, and you naturally follow.

You end up on the ground with a pair of frilly pink panties on your head. Itachi sits opposite to you, wrapped up in a towel.

A girl screams from the windows, and the two of you immediately dash across the streets and into a different alley; Lord Fugaku's route planning lessons come to your aid.

"The Uchiha are an old clan," Lord Fugaku says while you do your warm-ups. "We've lived through centuries of war; watching, learning and winning. And that, is the basis of what you will learn from my tutelage."

Your crimson eyes watch and learn as your clan head fights a copy of himself- a rather elusive solid clone technique he says you've got a while yet to learn. The two ninja move in utter synchronisation, sharingan copying sharingan. Their fists met blow for blow, redirecting the oter's attacks and pressing to take advantage.

Sekkendou.

The way of the intercepting fist. The Uchiha clan's ambiguous taijutsu.

There are usually a certain number of movements a taijutsu style can posses, but the Sekkendou has no such limit. It isn't a style at all, one could say- just a collection of the nearly hundred forms the Uchiha have stolen and passed down over time.

It can teach you every possible way to attack, provided you're capable of learning them. It teaches you how to counter different taijutsu moves.

Lord Fugaku shows you a set of the most commonly used attacks. In quick succession, he shows you the flaws in each and every one of those moves- and how to exploit them. He shows you the correct ways to place your feet and the proper technique to throw the most damaging punch.

You watch, and you learn. Your eyes spin slowly, converting the visual image into muscle memory, allowing you to move with perfection- or as much of it you can muster.

The constant exercise and the training you undergo toughens your body. It is a distinct, quantifiable change.

You pivot your foot on the ground and shift your weight as you throw a punch. It cuts through the air and strikes the abused trunk of a sturdy tree, adding yet another dent in the surface.

He grows. Good.

Lord Fugaku merely watches, dark eyes glinting in approval.

You have a few days of downtime after your fourth consecutive week of training.

Nee-chan snores softly from the sofa, having fallen asleep there while studying. You cover her with a sheet. The autumn weather in the Land of Fire is still rather hot, but it could get chilly at nights. Nothing to warrant a triple-layered blanket though.

Nee-chan wiggles like a caterpillar till she's huddled snugly beneath the covers.

You shake your head and move to your own room.

You've got no training tomorrow. Nothing sore and hurting all day... that sounds surprisingly appealing.

How will you spend your day tomorrow?

Choose One. Each has specific events tied in.

[ ] Hang out with Itachi at his home. Shisui would probably cut class and drop by too, later. The three of you usually have interesting times..."I think it broke..."
[ ] Maybe you could walk Nee-chan to the Academy? You'd then go to mooch off Itachi's fridge later. Give it back!

[ ] Laze around at home till the afternoon, after which you'll visit the clan head's house anyway.Do I...know you?

[ ] Visit the war memorial...He talks to the empty air.
[ ] Roam Konoha on your own for the morning. What could possibly go wrong? Everything.

You gained +2 exp in genjutsu from watching the cat. Someone roll a 2d10.

You gained +3 exp in taijutsu from watching your clan head practice. Someone roll a 3d10.

Standard Leaf style
assimilated into the broader category- Interceptor Fist.

Sekkendou, or the Interceptor Fist is fan made as far as I know. I like the name and concept though, so I'll be using it.

You learned the D-Rank Jutsu: Campfire Technique. A common jutsu capable of generating sparks of flame, just enough to get a fire going on a pile of leaves. Used by the Uchiha to ease their children into learning Fire Release.

Running - Dreadful (6/50) 》Worthless (36/50)

Ninjutsu - Dreadful (6/10) 》Worthless (28/50)
Taijutsu - Worthless (28/50) 》Novice (24/100)
Chakra Control - Novice (16/100) 》Novice (39/100)

??? (1/2) New Developing Trait

Failure of your rescue attempt has pushed back Cat Summon shenanigans. Fear not, for it is but a minor delay...

I'll change a few details to incorporate the summons in the story. The big cat monster mentioned in this chapter is a canon character.

Epsilon · Aug 5, 2016

Throughout the past month, you've worked hard beneath your clan head's tutelage in learning the ninja arts. The routine has become something familar; you've grown used to it.

Go to Lord Fugaku's house in the morning. Do
whatever task he assigns you before leaving for his duties as the commander of the military police. Practice your taijutsu and hone your mastery of chakra, the energy that flows in a spiral along your veins. Roam and explore all that the Leaf has to offer with Itachi and Shisui by your side.

But today is your day off. You wonder what you should do, while lying awake in your bed at seven in the morning. The thought of continuing your regular training comes to mind, but Lord Fugaku explicitly told you to spend this day relaxing yourself. Constant training harms more than it helps if you overtax yourself; your muscles need regularly spaced breaks to rebuild themselves stronger.

An abundance of free time, but nothing in particular to do...

"Hibiki, I'll be heading off now!" your sister's voice drifts from the hallway as she prepares to head out to the academy.

You almost say 'see you later!' like always, but a thought occurs to you.

...

Immediately, you fling yourself from the covers and grab the high collared shirt hanging in your closet.

"Wait up, Nee-chan!"

The morning Konoha is moderately bustling in activity, you notice, as you walk outside.

"Honestly," Nee-chan huffs while attempting to comb down your hair with her fingers. "You could've just slept in you know. Fugaku-sama works you to the bone six days a week; and a growing boy like you needs his rest!"

She mildly succeeds at taming your unkempt bedhead into something more acceptable in polite company, and then scrutinizes you with narrowed eyes. With a sharp tug, she fixes your half folded collar, and then gives self-satisfied nod and a pat on the back.

"Why do you want to go to the Academy anyway?" Hikari-nee conversationally asks.

Well.

You really haven't seen much of Nee-chan the past month, with her being busy for her upcoming graduations and you being occupied with mindnumbing hours of training. Hikari-nee is both your parent, sibling and best friend all in one; she's all you've known throughout your short little life. Though you have fun hanging out with Itachi and a more questionable amount of fun when dragged into trouble by Shisui, you've missed spending time with your sister.

That's why you decided to walk her to the academy this morning. But really, it's a bit embarassing to say that out loud...

There are other plausible reasons to visit the academy though.

"I guess I just wanted to check out the place," you reply while gazing up at the clouds. "I'll be beginning my own classes soon, after all."

"Oh, right," Nee-chan says with a contemplative expression on her face. "You're going to be a ninja too, in a few years..."

The residential area comes to an end. You live in Southern Konoha, and the academy lies in the official zone in the central district. There are hawks circling the sky in the distance, and the imposing faces of the Hokage staring down from further north, like always.

You squint, and your eyes briefly flicker crimson to give you better clarity. An ordinary person would not be able to notice anything amiss from this far, but doujutsu bearing eyes are naturally sharper than those without. You think you saw a few people on a blank spot beside the austere stone visage of Sarutobi Hiruzen...

Are they adding a new face?

"Hibiki! Stop dawdling and come on!" Nee-chan grumpily calls down to you from above.

You turn your gaze back from the mountain and crouch down a bit. Large amounts of chakra flow through your legs to augment your muscles, as you increase the pressure you'd been exerting on the ground. And then, like a released spring or perhaps like a striking snake, you leap upwards.

The wind rushes past your ears briefly - and then you spread out your arms like a bird to compensate for balance. Your feet land lightly on a pair of red roof tiles.

"Let's go," you say to Nee-chan with a smile.

Roof hopping is one of the more common methods of travel among the general ninja population of Konoha, and a skill you've learnt through your recent training spree. The buildings in the central district all have thick, reinforced tiles - and according to your sister, there is an actual 'Roof-ninja' who fixes the tiles broken by badly executed landings or by a passing Akimichi.

You're not sure if she's pulling your leg...

Scores of ninja leap across the roofs. A few genin head westwards to the training grounds; a patrolling member of the military police moves in the vague direction of the market district; a busy chunin juggling sheafs of paper in one hand gracefully crosses two buildings in one jump - and then curses as he almost trips at the landing.

You move, and you breathe.

The air smells of pine and forestry even though you're surrounded by civilization. Errant leaves float freely in the air, sometimes catching on Nee-chan's spiky mane. She furiously bats them out every once in a while.

Between the buildings and on the side of the roads, large trees sprout out into the sky, acting as landmarks to those first learning to navigate the city. Konohagakure becomes more of a maze as one proceeds to the centre, with same colored buildings of different heights arranged to disorient you.

But after Nee-chan leads you past a certain point, the cluster of buildings clear up. A cherry red structure comes into view; one that every Konoha resident knows by sight.

The Hokage Tower.

"We're here!" Hikari declares. She leaps down from the roof of the bakery opposite the hospital, and so do you. The usual scent of forestry is drowned out by that of fresh bread - which rouses your stomach. Maybe you can stop by here on your way back?

The Academy is just beside the Hokage tower. You see many children walking to the gates, where a burly chunin stands guard clad in his ash-green flak jacket.

"You won't be allowed inside," Nee-chan says with a shake of her head. She ruffles your hair -the same hair she combed down, mind you- and then turns towards the entrance.

"Hey Hikari!" someone calls out from ahead.

ayame_yamanaka___naruto_oc_by_avenged4lifeforever-d5hj3rk.png

It's a girl her age, with flaxen hair and cyan eyes. Like always, a Yamanaka is your first guess.

"Minori," your sister acknowledges with a grin. "Good morning."

The girl shushes your sister and immediately crouches down to get a better look at you up close.

You blink.

"Is this little Hibiki-chan then?" she asks with a teasing smile. "He's so cute! Just look at those widdle cheeks he's hiding beneath the flaps," she cooes. "I'm Yamanaka Minori; but you call me Minori-chan or Minorin if you want!"

Her hands are making grabby motions, and she gets even closer. You take a step back - perhaps due to the screaming instincts you inherited from your lineage as a child of one of the oldest warring clans.

Your sister sighs. "Don't traumatise him...too much."

"Don't wander off anywhere alone, alright? Head on home," Hikari says to you and then vanishes behind the gates. Yamanaka Minori waves at you before following after your sister, but you pointedly ignore her.

Your cheeks are still throbbing from the all the pulling, pinching and tugging they received a minute prior.

Hands in your pockets and a scowl hidden beneath the high collar of your shirt, you walk along the walls of the academy. You turn your head as you hear raised voices.

"...hey, give it back!" a voice wails. "It's mine!"

There's a boy a bit older than you sprawled out on the ground, while an even older boy pins him to the ground with his foot. He holds a rather nice looking scarf in his hands - and seems to be attempting to tear it into pieces. There are other students passing through the area, but none of them spare the scene a second glance.

"Darn, what's this thing made of?" grumbles the older boy as he tugs on the silky cloth. A small rip soon appears, and he crows in laughter.

[Into the Fray]

Rolled: 27+5 》32

A hand whips out and grabs that of the older boy's. You realise that it's your own.

"Hey. Give him his scarf back," you simply say.

Amber eyes look down at you. Up closer, you notice the red fang tattoos on his cheek partially obscured by his shaggy brown hair.

Inuzuka.

He removes his feet from the top of the younger boy's chest - and the latter scrambles back and looks at you with wide eyes.

"Kid," the older boy begins with a sharp toothed grin, "You want a fight?"

[ ] Yes
-[ ] Fight with your sharingan active
--[ ] Write in strategy
-[ ] Do not use your sharingan
--[ ] Write in strategy

[ ] No
-[ ] "No. I just didn't like watching you bully him."
-[ ] You're not sure if you want to tangle with an Inuzuka. Back out.

Both 'No' options require persuasion/diplomatic rolls to succeed.

Fighting with your sharingan active or inactive both have pros and cons; though I'm sure you can figure them out if you think a bit. A good strategy will get a roll bonus. If it's a particularly bad one, a negative bonus.

You've become acquainted with Yamanaka Minori, a classmate of your sister.

AN: I've recovered pretty well. Lots of things to catch up on irl, but I'd like to see where the tale of Uchiha Hibiki goes...

I've thrown you your first possible combat situation, against someone older and stronger - the norm in the Naruto world. Fight or Flight, now let us see.

Epsilon · Aug 16, 2016

"Kid," the older boy begins with a sharp toothed grin, "You want a fight?"

Persuation: 1d100-15
Rolled 96-15 = 81

You stare at him briefly and then shake your head.

"Not at all," you say solemnly. "I just didn't like watching you bully him."

The Inuzuka looks taken aback by your simple but earnest words. He blinks a few times, as you steadily hold his gaze.

"Please give the scarf back."

A moment passes, and then he looks away with a huff.

"Tch. You can have your stupid scarf," he grumbles while callously throwing the cloth to the other boy - who fumbles to catch it. "You're pathetic enough that you've got toddlers standing up for you now, Kenji," the Inuzuka continues with a sigh. "You'll be a wuss forever, at this rate."

You're a bit irked that he called you a toddler, but you let it go. Words from strangers are worth nothing to you.

The rude Inuzuka stalks off in the direction of the academy entrance. His hands are clenched at his sides, and he kicks an unlucky pebble that had the misfortune of lying in his path. You pause to stare at the back of his jacket, and then turn your gaze back to the other boy.

He's still sprawled out on his bum.

"Here," you nod to him as you hold out your hand.

After a moment of hesitation, he tentatively grabs it and pulls himself up. The flowery scarf is clutched firmly but carefully in his other hand.

"I'm Hibiki," you say with a half-smile, hoping to reassure him. Up standing, he's half a head taller than you, but you still get the feeling that he's trying to curl up into a ball. He looks at the corner, perhaps expecting the Inuzuka to come back the very next second and resume his attempts at making him eat dirt.

"I'm, uh, Kenji. Kurama Kenji. From the Kurama clan, that is," he stammers out.

"Nice to meet you then, Kurama Kenji of the Kurama clan," you reply, amused. The boy's cheeks color up a bit.

The Kurama are not an insignificant clan of Konoha; you've heard their name in passing more than a few times. As a clan that specialises in the seldom used art of genjutsu, they have their own niche in the Leaf's forces.

"Thanks for earlier," he says while rubbing the back of his head. "No one's really bothered to tell off Inuzuka-senpai before while he pushed me around," he smiles slightly.

That's right. All that's needed for injustice to take place is for a good man to do nothing, as Lord Fugaku sometimes says. The ordinary man will watch and worry, but never come forth by his own will.

So who does, then?

Heroes, of course.

A distant bell chimes through the morning air before you can reply, and the Kurama boy pales.

"Shoot, class is about to start," he groans. "I, uh, gotta go, Hibiki. I owe you one alright? Thanks again."

He then scampers off like a particularly skittish rabbit, muttering 'I'm late, I'm late,' over and over.

What a strange boy. Strange, but nice.

You tuck your hands into your pockets and continue on your way. The clouds are breaking up overhead; a dazzling sunshine comes into view. Shooting a suspicious glance at an old cat lazily watching you, you move forward - eventually coming across that bakery opposite to the hospital.

Mm. The warm sweetness of freshly baked bread can be smelled even from a few dozen feet away; you wonder if they're using some secret culinary jutsu to entrance those passing by.

Rummaging around in your pockets, you feel several notes brush against your fingertips. You've got some ryo to spare.

Stop at the bakery across the hospital for some breakfast?

[ ] Yes!
Yikes, you gotta come quick!

[ ] Perhaps another time.

-[ ] Go home.
...secret booze cabinet
-[ ] Go to Itachi's house.
oh, didn' ya hear? Lady Mikoto...

[ ] Eh. You know what, you don't think you're too hungry. Maybe you can find a nice tree or something to take a quick nap beneath.
wake up man...

You've made the acquaintance of Kurama Kenji.

The generic skill [Persuation] is now open for improvement. Someone roll a 2d10.

AN: Really expected a fight here, but Derkan saved yall with his 96 roll. Till next time, I suppose.

Epsilon · Sep 8, 2016

[8] Yes!

Your stomach gave a loud grumble. Yeah, you were going in.

The glass doors swung open with a light push. Overhead, a bell chimed.

"Oh? Hello there!"

An old man peered down at you from the counter as you walk in. "Good morning," you politely nodded, and then glanced around. There were a few square tables to a side. The sandy walls were made of palmwood, thousands of grainy lines vaguely reminiscent of rainfall. Beneath the counter was a glass case displaying a myriad of bread, pastries and baked goods.

The old man kept squinting at you as you perused the display to choose what to eat. Something sweet perhaps?

"I want the buttermilk pancakes with vanilla maple syrup," you piped up. "And maybe one of those cinnamon rolls."

"Alright," the man blinked. "Take a seat then, boyo."

Behind the counter was the entrance to what was probably the kitchen; you could see a teen bustling around in there. The old man momentarily went to the back to place your order, while you sat at a table near the doorway and lightly drummed your fingers on the surface.

It took a few minutes for your breakfast to arrive. It came with a tall glass of milk, a few slices of fruit and a side of scrambled eggs too!

"Those are on the house. A growing boy needs his nutrition!" the old guy boomed out a laugh, ruffling your hair. "Eat up!"

And so you did. You tucked in with gutso, spearing into the fluffy pancakes and then rubbing them in syrup. The scrambled eggs were creamy and good, while the slices of apples and blueberries went just right with the pancakes.

Other customers came and went all the while, but most of them took their orders to go.

A particularly harried looking Hyuga runner left with what seemed to be a few dozen cinnamon buns in a bulging sack. An Akimichi woman sat down a table away with a plate of food thrice as high as your own. She finished it before you were even halfway through yours, and glared when she caught you staring. You immediately looked back to your plate.

You were almost done. The shop was again empty barring you and the elderly owner, when the bells jingled once more.

...

Your last pancake vanished just as you were about to eat it.

"Hwibikey," the thief warbled out while munching on your breakfast. "Lucky I spotted you from outside! Yikes, you gotta come quick!"

His hands reached out towards the cinnamon roll you had saved for last, but you batted it away with impunity. Quickly, you gobbled up the roll before the thief could make another attempt.

"Aw. Thought I could get that too," Shisui sighed.

You got up and moved to wash your hands at the nearby sink. Then you went to the counter.

The owner scratched his head as you handed him the right amount of ryo. "The cinnamon roll and pancakes were delicious. The eggs too," you spoke seriously. He laughed, "Well, thank you then, boyo!"

"You done yet?" the obnoxious voice piped up from behind you.

"What do you want, Shisui?" you grumbled while pocketing your change.

Your older cousin grinned and jabbed his thumb out at the glass door, towards the hospital on the other side. "Aunt Mikoto's water broke! She's giving birth to the baby right now- we'll miss it if we're late!"

You stared at his grinning mug for a moment, and then wordlessly rushed at the exit.

"Come again another time!" the old man hollered as the door closed behind you. You gave him a wave, and then sprinted to catch up with Shisui.

Despite all your curiosity, none of you were allowed inside the birthing room.

"But uncle Tekka!"

"No buts," the austere man spoke impassively, face as bland and composed as the white walls of the hospital.

"You're a butt," Shisui muttered back.

It had been an hour already. According to uncle Tekka, the baby might even take half a day to come out if it wasn't in the mood.

"He."

"Hm?"

"It's a he," Itachi spoke once more. His eyes were closed; he rested his chin over his knuckles.

"How do you know?" you asked curiously.

Half-lidded eyes stared at you, and the corner of his lips turned up slightly.

"I just have a feeling."

-

The occasional sounds coming from within made you think it was a good idea that you were out here. Shisui leaned back on the bench you three were sitting in, fidgeting this way and that, while Itachi looked at the closed door every once in a while. You did what you do best.

You took a nap.

. . .

"Hey, Hibiki. Get up!" Shisui furiously whispered as he shook your shoulder. "We can go in now!"

"Don't be too loud though; you don't wanna disturb Lady Mikoto and the baby now, do you?" a voice spoke up gently. It was a medic-nin; the one who had overseen the birth.

You shook your head, and so did Itachi and Shisui.

Beneath her white scrubs, there was a different grey ensemble.

???

Uncle Tekka nodded respectfully at the woman as she walked away along the rather empty hallway.

"Go in. Keep your voices down."

Uncle Tekka ushered you three inside and shut the door behind your backs, not entering himself.

"How long was I asleep?" you whispered.

"A bit more than two hours," Itachi whispered back. He'd been the only one of you three to stay awake all throughout; Shisui too had drifted off at some point. You glanced at the other occupants of the room.

Lady Mikoto looked tired but happy as she laid beneath the white covers. Her eyes were on the man at the bedside - your clan head and Itachi's father, Uchiha Fugaku.

And cradled carefully in Lord Fugaku's arms, was a blue bundle. A little pink face with a tuft of dark hair peeked out from within the wrapped towel.

He smiled at the three of you. "This is Sasuke," he spoke in a tone gentler than anything you've ever heard from him.

The baby was a boy.

Itachi had been right.

He was tiny. Unbelievably so. His eyes were scrunched up and his little button nose sniffled every once in a while. Wrinkly and pink, but impossibly adorable in a way you cannot describe with words alone.

Had you been this small when you were a baby?

"Sasuke..." Itachi mused, testing the word on his tongue. "Sa-su-ke."

He smiled.

"Hello, Sasuke," he spoke again in a whisper. "I'm your big brother."

The baby's eyelashes fluttered. Grey eyes squinted up, and then little Sasuke giggled and sputtered.

"Would you like to hold your brother, Itachi?"

The boy nodded. His father showed him how to hold the baby, and then carefully deposited it in Itachi's steady arms. You and Shisui huddled around to get an even closer look.

"I'm Hibiki. You can call me Hibiki-nii if you want," you told Sasuke. "I'll...I'll show you all my best napping spots!" The baby sniffed and looked the other way, trying to wriggle out of his towel.

Adorable little jerk. You vow to pinch his cheeks extra hard when he reaches the cheek-pinching age.

Shisui silently laughed at you.

"Hey there little guy!" he spoke in an excited whisper. "I'll be your coolest nii-san, the super cool Shisui-nii! When your dad won't be watching, I'll let you play with real kunai and shuriken. How does that sound?"

Sasuke stared- then sniffled, before promptly bursting into tears.

"I'll be taking him now, if you're done," your clan head spoke up dryly. "And Shisui?"

"Yes, Lord Fugaku?"

"You will not hand my son live weapons when I'm not around."

"Of course, Lord Fugaku."

The door opened about a foot, and Uchiha Tekka peeked in. "Alright you two, give the kid some time alone with his family. Come on out."

You trailed behind Shisui, when Fugaku addressed you.

"While I'm glad to see you here, shouldn't you be home today, Hibiki?"

"I left in the morning to walk Nee-chan to the academy," you spoke tentatively. "Shisui found and brought me here afterwards."

"I see," the man spoke quietly. Sasuke was in Lady Mikoto's lap now; she had propped herself up against a pillow.

"You should head back. There was a reason I asked you to stay home today, you know," he chuckled mysteriously.

The rubber soles of your sandals touched upon rooftiles with every leap. The sun glared down from above; it was around noon now.

You landed on the cobbled streets of Southern Konoha with a light thud, chakra flexing around through your leg muscles to counteract the impact. It was a short walk to your home after that.

The front door was unlocked when you turned the handle to check. You heard faint sounds from within.

There was someone in your house.

Your first thought was to pull out a kunai and then carefully sneak in, but you decided against it. Lord Fugaku already knew of this from what he indicated. You didn't have any kunai on you either, for that matter.

You looked around.

A fat brown cat lounged on the wall nearby, staring right at you.

"Who's in my house?" you asked.

"Some guy, and a woman," the cat replied readily. A moment later, it hit its own forehead with a paw. "Ignore me, I'm a normal cat."

The cat refused to utter any more words despite your prompting.

Shaking your head, you turned the handle and walked inside your house.

The intruders were staring at you from the dining table.

There were two of them; a dark haired man with a faint beard on his chin, and a woman with even darker hair and a scar over her brow. Between them, an empty bottle of sake and two saucers.

The woman smiled at you and opened her arms.

No, wait. She had only one arm. The other sleeve hung loosely at the elbow.

"Hikari-chan! Come here! Why is your hair so short? And I thought you'd be taller by now...but that's alright, I was really short as a kid too..."

"My name, is Uchiha Hibiki," you cut through her tirade. "May I ask who the two of you are?"

The woman didn't immediately speak; she seemed startled, rather.

Were those tears in her eyes?

"Hibiki, huh," the man spoke up quietly. There was something familiar about his voice- something familiar about both their voices, in fact. His steady gait as he stood up from his chair and walked over to you pulled at a memory from long ago

You, stumbling forward with unsteady steps, and a tall man catching you whenever you fell.

"Her name is Uchiha Miyu. Mine is Uchiha Shinichi," the man said in an almost-whisper as he knelt before you. "But you, little Hibiki. You can call us mom and dad."

-You met Uchiha Sasuke. What a cute kid. You think you want a baby sibling too!

-Your parents have returned from the Third Ninja War.

-You met ???

Uchiha Tekka will oversee your training the next month.

You have 20 exp to spend for the month. Vote in plan format, as always.

[ ] Persuation - Worthless (4/50)

[ ] Kunai Throwing - Worthless (9/50)

[ ] Running - Worthless (36/50)

[ ] Taijutsu - Novice (35/100)

[ ] Chakra Control - Novice (39/100)

[ ] Ninjutsu - Worthless (28/50)

[ ] Genjutsu - Worthless (1/50)

-

Busy catching up with lectures and procrastinating. I should finish that Minato Interlude too, but can't find the time to touch it...

-I'd have increased the exp from 20 to 25, but Fugaku won't be teaching this month as he'll be busy with baby Sasuke.

-Good catch whoever realised "Yes" meant seeing Sasuke firsthand. Underneath the underneath!

-Next month you start at the Academy as well, by the way.

Vote; I'll then prompt your rollz.

The Little Uchiha - A Naruto Quest

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