ooo
If you truly do not want a massively superior opponent to gain certain information, send agents who do not have that information.
ooo
It turns out, anyone can buy clothes and bandages, and finding a poor street kid who'll do anything for some ryo is even easier. If I ever take over this place there are going to be some serious societal reforms mused Tetsuo as he considered the disadvantaged youth in front of him, regretting the steps that would be necessary to save a life without being sent to T&I. Why do we even have a Torture and Interrogation department in a village that has Yamanakas... Yamanaka? Yamanaki? Whatever. Shouldn't it just be an Interrogation department? Is there just that much torture that needs to be done that a whole clan of them isn't enough? How much could they possibly need to do? Is it supposed to scare everyone into obeying then once you walk inside they don't actually torture you? Or is it just one of those accepted things that everyone is fine with because they've grown up with it.
Today, he was wearing the blandest, the most average, the dullest clothes possible and his face was wrapped in bandages. They had all been washed with soap that was not the type used in the orphanage. If it's close enough, a person can actually see pretty well through sufficiently coarse cloth, which was useful because his orange eyes were pretty distinctive. As a result, he looked like a particularly boring Egyptian mummy, perhaps one called Clive that works at the bread counter. He had walked down the side of the building to come up behind the kid in the dead end alley. Then he had cleared his throat and made his offer, scaring the crap out of the kid in the process. A little pointless intimidation was rarely a bad thing in these cases and if he couldn't do it now, when could he?
"Repeat it back to me." Tetsuo said in a voice that was not his normal one.
"You want me to go to the Hokage's tower and tell the Chuunin on duty that you overheard those Kumo people talking about how they wanted to kidnap the Hyuuga princess for her eyes, and then I'll be a hero for saving her!" replied the young bright haired boy, dreams of glory shining in his eyes.
"And if they want to know who told you?" Tetsuo asked, just to make sure he had been understood.
A frown from the boy as he remembered his lines. "Tell them Arashi told me, and that I didn't know who you are, then answer any questions they ask me about you. And I'm not to try and hold anything back."
"Well here's your money and off you go. One last thing." He stated, crushing the arm that had grabbed the money with a surprising amount of force for one so small, abruptly there was a kunai in Tetsuo's off hand. "If you cheat me, I will find you. Now, run along now!" he finished faux cheerfully, releasing the boy. The boy stumbled out of the alleyway, then glanced about and dashed off.
Tetsuo took a moment to carve a stylised storm cloud into the ground beneath his feet, then walked back up the wall of the alley onto the roof, and put the bandages into his pocket. He walked back down the other side, wandered through the main marketplace and through two more busy squares to confuse his scent trail. Finally he re-wrapped his head in bandages and repeated the process. The second boy was told to go to the Hyuuga gate guards instead.
After carving one more symbol, walking through three more busy places and changing into a completely different set of clothes he'd hidden in a tree on the way home, he finally allowed himself to relax. A thin smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. The problem he mused is twofold: how to help the unfortunate Hizashi, and how to get credit for it later. I'm not nearly good enough at lying yet to go in front of a Hokage or a Clan Head and tell them I overhead things I did not overhear. They'd take one look at me and think it was a trick by Kiri to foul the negotiations or something. I'd be hanging from the ceiling by my toenails in no time. If they follow the kid back to track me, they'll find the symbol, which I can replicate later to prove it was me. If the plan backfires, they can't find me to take the blame. The kid will be fine because he's not lying, and that should be obvious to whoever looks. Call it a 10% chance of them finding me anyway, worth it to save a life and possibly make Neji not an arsehole. Can't really blame him though, damn slavers.
ooo
The following week when Gai told him the leader of the Kumo delegation was in prison awaiting punishment, Tetsuo's smile split his face in half. Gai may have come to the conclusion that he was a bit of a sadist.
ooo
A/N Arashi is a japanese name meaning storm or tempest. Next stop, Time skip! Funny story, I actually did roll a dice to see if they would catch up to him on this one, though not necessarily using the numbers he said. If they had, he'd have had a fun few days of fast talking ahead of him. I like to make sure I'm not being biased in favour of my character.
2 1/2 years later
Tetsuo was 6 and soon he would start at the academy. Last week he'd told the Konoha version of a guidance councillor that he was 'going to be the bestest ninja ever!' and been given a sad look, an apartment and a monthly stipend. Today he moved in. Now, he was doing something he had been looking forwards to for six years. He had ached from the hole in his life, chafed at the stifling rules. For six years his bedtime was proscribed, his mealtimes chosen for him and his freedom curtailed. It had rubbed him raw and he had spent every moment he could get away with out of the orphanage. Worse though, they had not allowed him to cook. For six years three months and fourteen days he had not touched an oven nor fondled a frying pan.
Currently he was cradling a small container of soy sauce to his cheek and chuckling. His funds were limited, but his cookery had never relied on having the finest cuts or the best ingredients. "Gordon Ramsay may say to cook good ingredients simply, but he's got money! Today, I cook crap ingredients complicatedly and cheat outrageously." he announced to his empty, small kitchen. He nodded, as if he had just imparted the ancient wisdom of a wise master. Then, with every sign of relish he turned to the bucket of fish heads sitting on his counter. "Today, roast salmon wings. Tomorrow, the world!" This was followed by a short bout of maniacal laughter before he got to work. He whistled as he sliced, carving off the area below the gills into thick curvy c-shapes of meat with a fin sticking out of each piece, then discarded the rest.
As he worked, he plotted. Naruto or Sasuke. Naruto or Sasuke... who do I want on my team? I'm definitely turning Hinata into the best kunoichi, the other options would send me insane and take too long to grow into their power, but who do I want for the third member? Do I excel as rookie of the year, or hide my strength as dead last? Child of prophecy, or Indra's evil pawn in the ancient mystical dick waving competition. If I pick Naruto I'll get the eternal loyalty of an eventual demigod. Sasuke, and I get surliness and an opportunity to make sure he has a 'accident' and ends up face down in a ditch somewhere. The corners of his mouth hardened briefly as he mixed honey, soy and finely chopped garlic. At least it would be quiet surliness though. Can't stand blabber. I could talk to them about training at least, that could hold my interest.
Training at anything less than my full potential will cause problems long term. If I ingrain habits to take a dive in taijutsu practice or target practice they could get me killed in the real world. Unacceptable. He began kneading the marinade into the fish and placing them on a baking tray. I could pretend to be brittle under pressure? Great most days but terrible on test day? Risky, but doable. 4/10 chance they see through me, they're ninja after all. Uhhhg, why can't I just have Shikamaru? Stupid traditional Ino-Shika-Cho combination.
He set the rice and asparagus to cook and thumped the tray of fish into the oven. Couldn't find any potatoes, gods and silence I hope they exist in this universe and they're just out of season. That would be terrible. Stroke of luck finding that asparagus. Abruptly he switched mental threads. It'll have to be Naruto. He has the Hokage's ear now, it'll keep me safe from Root. My improved countermeasures still aren't good enough. If shadow clones work anything like they should I'll abuse his massive chakra to safety, victory and beyond. Or any other type of clones. Pop a charging earth clone and you still get hit by of a wall of sticky brown stuff. Keep him safe, make him strong, retire from active service and let him deal with all this prophecy bull.
Definitely want to go the full 6 years. No skipping ahead years. The stronger I can get before doing missions the better my chances of surv-
ooo
Dyyynnamic Eentryyyyy!" Where before there had been an empty living room, now there was Gai skidding to a halt. He had a way of crowding out all other considerations. "I came to help you move in my Most Youthful Companion! Now though, I see that you have already finished! I shall do Five Hundred one legged squats for being too late to help!" He shouted with his trademark grin.
Tetsuo was briefly and intensely thankful that his bedroom had a lock on the door and a window that didn't open. Waking up to that in the morning would be too much to bear. He was used to Gai's eccentricities by now though so he simply replied "You do that. Gai, you're just in time for dinner, I made too much." in a neutral tone, before plating up the fruits of his labours.
"My Youthful Kouhai, have you been talking to Kakashi to pick up this Hip and Cool attitude?" He looked briefly inconsolable and was outlined in a blue spotlight. Then he noticed what his nose had been insistently telling him this whole time and his gaze homed in on the streaming piles of food. "Nevertheless, I accept your generous offer of Sustenance!"
Taking their places at the table Tetsuo took his first bite and let the soft, rich, smoky, fatty flavour of the fish become his entire world. The salmon collar is richer than the normal cuts, releasing pearls of healthy fats that gently baste the meat from within as it cooks, while the marinade penetrates deeply and infuses each tender layer while the lime is there to cut through any greasiness. All counterpointed by the firm buttery asparagus and fluffy white rice. Truly, there was nothing better. Some time later he came back to awareness in front of an empty plate littered with discarded fins and let out a happy sound.
"I did not know you had the time to learn such a skill my Kouhai," observed Gai, groaning slightly as he shifted. "But now that I know I shall recommend you do it often! Such abundant proteins and fats are ideal for firing the growth of a Strong and Youthful Body!"
"Speaking of personal growth Gai-senpai, could you show me the Shunshin sometime? I want to be able to move like Shusui of the Body Flicker and the best way to do that is to learn it really really young so it can become like a reflex! If I could get it seal-less it'd be so cool." Here his orange eyes turned predatory. "I'll even bring along food so we can spend more time training before I have to go to the academy!" He knew it was a bit low to manipulate Gai like this, but he didn't care. For ninja skills he would do so much worse than a bit of buttering up and some bribery. That, and now that he had the means there were years of neglecting his cooking skills that he needed to make up for. On the upside he was sure that now he could engrave the exact recipe and resultant flavour into his chakra brain, allowing for some pretty significant fine tuning. In a previous life he had worked out to the second how long to boil an egg in a particular pan at a particular heat for the perfect boiled egg.
"Well it is a common technique if not a basic one, I see no reason why not. Though you may have to learn another technique first," mused Gai. "Are you sure you have the chakra control?"
"I've got the leaf sticking and the tree walking exercise down, and I'm working on water walking," Tetsuo related eagerly, "will that do?"
"It should be enough to start learning, though mastery may take a while." Here Gai perked up at the thought of Hard Work. "Yes! My Most Youthful Kouhai we must put in the effort to ensure you are the very best you can be!" finished Gai with his trademark pose. Tetsuo swore he could hear the washing of the ocean in the distance. Definitely a genjutsu based ability, is the thumbs up like a handseal? Possible offensive applications? Needs more research.
ooo
A/N Here's the other half of the previous chapter, where we start to see the direction I'm hoping to take Tetsuo's fighting style. I've always been a big believer that speed is the most important attribute of a ninja, and rapid fire seal-less shunshin is basically spot on for that kind of thing. It also has the advantage of being so widespread that he can ask for it and have a decent chance of getting it. Ninja are extremely wary of sharing their personal techniques, but everyone knows shunshin so there's no harm.
Also thanks for the responses folks. It gave me a much better idea of how to handle the transition without either getting bogged down or making the characters unbelievable.
ooo
It was the first day of the Academy and Tetsuo was prepared. His plan was fresh in his mind, his weapons to hand and his strange open toed ninja sandals on his feet. Though they were at least black, not blue. The shop-keeper had explained that the thin soles were filled with small holes to allow unimpeded chakra flow for techniques. Left unsaid was that if you wanted dry feet in the rain then you should work on your chakra control and not ask to be pandered to like some kind of civilian.
He took a moment to look in the mirror and took pleasure once again at having a mirror. It's the little things you don't think you'll miss until you don't have them for over half a decade. His black hair was arranged in a series of messy spikes and sharp orange eyes peered out of features that were - unfortunately - still pretty baby faced. There was the makings of what might one day be the fierce high cheekbones of his mother hidden under the fatty layer but for now he looked, not to put too fine a point on it, frustratingly adorable. His button nose was cute, and his eager grin sweet. Even if it did contain a worrying amount of teeth that were slightly sharper than normal.
He proudly wore black shorts and a shirt of deep crimson. One day he would have to bow down to practicality and wear camouflage colours, but that could wait until he had more money and had to hide from actual enemies. He was happy with that red shirt, it meant he had not completely fallen to the effects of long term Gai exposure. In recent months he could feel the pull working at the corners of his mind though, and could only hope that a healthy dose of other people would boost his tolerance.
One last check to his equipment, a quick moment to grab his lunch and shogi board, a careful movement to activate his traps and he was out the window like any self-respecting ninja. So far as he could tell doors were mainly for show and formal occasions. Bouncing up the alley wall that his window faced like a pinball he reached the roof and made a beeline for the academy, the bright sun burning down on him and glinting from windows across the village. Konoha truly was a sight from above.
As he turned the corner to the Academy everything was in its proper place. Here was Shikamaru looking unenthusiastic while his mother threatened him with dire ends if he slacked off, there was Choji with his parents making sure his backpack was properly filled with food and just visible was a cheerful (for an Uchiha) Sasuke being seen off by an impassive Itachi. He saw a nervous Hinata being given a pep talk by a gently smiling Neji while an impassive, stoic Hiashi looked on. A warm smile broke out on Tetsuo's face at the change. Hopefully a more supportive home environment would make it easier to mould her into kunoichi of the year. That, and it just plain felt nice to do good.
There were many more, hundreds of small children were here for their first day. They would be sorted and sifted by strength and potential over the coming years, and this wasn't the only academy. A hidden village couldn't possibly survive on just a couple dozen new genin a year, but only the best would have a chance to continue the reasonably old tradition of learning from a Jounin sensei. So far as Tetsuo could tell both Naruto and Sakura had originally got into the jounin track based on potential, not actual combat skill. Sakura had the highest written grades there and as for Naruto, well an untrained and unwatched Jinchuuriki was really just a disaster waiting to happen. Speaking of The Orange Swarm, there was Naruto in a circle of empty space, wearing a raggedy orange jumpsuit and garnering nasty looks from the assembled parents. Tetsuo could hear multiple children being warned to stay away from him on pain of... pain mostly. A slight narrowing of orange eyes; something would need to be done about that later. Naruto had to stay dead last for the dream team plan to work, but there was no need for him to be completely alone.
Take a normal kid, raise them up and give them respect and friendship and they will fight for you. Do the same for a loser who has no-one and they will die for you. There is no loyalty greater than that of one raised from the dirt. Haku should be learning that first hand at some point in the next few years.
ooo
As expected, the lessons were painfully simple apart from history, which included so much obvious propaganda that he wondered how anyone fell for it. 'And then all the other clans were inspired by Konoha's example and joined the new village' phah. More like 'and then one by one the clans saw that if they did not join the new large power bloc they would come into conflict and eventually be annihilated by superior numbers, or be crushed between Konoha and the other nascent hidden villages'. Guess I'll be working on my chakra control during class then. I guess my kanji and penmanship could use work as well if I ever want to learn fuuinjutsu. Variations on the leaf hovering exercise are next I think. Still, lunchtime. Time to get started.
There is a certain way to go about talking to young geniuses so as not to be mentally lumped in with all the rest as uninteresting or annoying. Tetsuo had known enough smart people growing up in the last life to have a workable plan. First, make no attempt to act normal, second demonstrate skill in an area of their interest. "Hey Shikamaru-san, Choji-san what are you up to?" asked Tetsuo, walking up to the recumbent clan heir and his portly friend.
"You're... Tetsuo-san right? Just cloudwatching, it's such a nice day it would be a shame to do otherwise," replied the sleepy Nara, moving his eyes slowly over the new arrival. Choji munched on something crunchy and grunted a greeting.
"That's me. I was hoping to find someone to have a game of shogi with while I ate. You seemed like the best bet," replied Tetsuo truthfully, waving a board and lunchbox. It was best to be truthful with people like Shikamaru. You never knew when two seemingly unrelated facts would jostle together in his head and your whole house of cards would collapse.
At once Shikamaru was suddenly upright. It seemed he had not yet fully internalised the Nara way, and could still move if there was something he wanted. "You play? A game sounds like it could be nice," said Shikamaru in a neutral tone that was belied by his eager posture. Does his dad teach him to sound uninterested the same way the Hyuuga teach their kids to look unflappable? Or is he just copying his father? wondered Tetsuo as he sat down and opened up the board. He had spent some time playing against and getting tips from old geezers in the sun, so he had a reasonable understanding of the game. It was not quite like the chess he had once known, but the similarities were enough to ease the transition and he was playing against a 6 year old, no matter how smart.
Step three for befriending a genius: enjoy talking about something interesting, try not to say anything too obvious, occasionally skip connecting parts between subjects as if you expect them to know the significance and you don't want to insult their intelligence by explaining anything so basic. Fortunately, ninja training had many interesting things to talk about.
ooo
"I've been looking into fuuinjutsu at the library with my new student access, and I was considering the possibilities granted by a storage scroll that could give momentum to objects leaving the scroll, for use in movement," said Tetsuo as the pieces plinked about the board and he opened his lunchbox. Today was unagi: soft chestnutty chunks of eel meat braised in a dark sauce then toasted over coals and served on white rice. He'd brought extra, planning to give some to Choji. As he played he offered some to his companions, which they took with small sounds of thanks, followed by louder sounds of thanks as they tasted the food. "You could change direction mid-air that way, but I can't find out if storage scrolls allow for large things to come out moving relative to the scroll," continued Tetsuo, taking a bite of his meal and thinking of Tenten and her winding scrolls firing weapons to the four winds.
"My father says it's been done before, but the chakra cost rises in proportion to the weight of the object," replied the no-longer sleepy Nara, eyes intent on the game. Choji meanwhile was gorging himself on the offering of food.
"I could make that work for mid-air direction changes," mused Tetsuo, "So long as the chakra costs aren't prohibitive."
"Most just use the substitution technique if they're caught mid-jump," Shikamaru pointed out, showing the type of broad, battle-tested background knowledge that you just didn't get as a clan-less orphan. Tetsuo's smile widened, yes this was definitely a good idea. "Ah, it seems you've beaten me," Shikamaru said with an expression of faint surprise. Tetsuo studied the board, he was 3 moves away from actually winning but there was no longer anything the young pineapple haired boy could do to stop it. "I guess so," Tetsuo replied. Lunchtime was coming to an end. "Play again tomorrow?" It seems raw genius doesn't beat an extra lifetime of experience... yet. He'll probably have me on the ropes before we graduate. Shikamaru really is smarter than anyone his age has a right to be. Why, he's already figured out the optimal path to avoid having people ask him to do anything.
"I think I'd like that," was the response from the dark haired boy, while Choji nodded fervently.It had been two month at the Academy and the first years were finally being allowed to spar with each other in taijutsu class. The previous time had been spent on safety, basic form and katas which Tetsuo had memorised years ago. The whole class was gathered in a training field supervised by a number of teachers. He keenly felt his lack of practical fighting experience. They had discovered that fighting against Gai was... inadvisable as a training method for one so young. So Tetsuo did the obvious thing, he walked up to Sasuke, pointed dramatically and called out his foe, "Uchiha! Fight me!" It was all very dramatic and marred only slightly by the fact that we were less than four feet tall.
"... Alright Nakano," replied Sasuke after taking a moment to consider. He had not yet gained the screaming fangirls or the crippling emotional trauma that would plague him in his later years, so for now he was actually an alright kid. A bit stuffy but that's what happens when you're raised by Uchiha, considered Tetsuo. A shame my plan involves supplanting him and forcing him into a team with a higher chance of death. Mainly because every team that isn't mine would have a higher chance of death. We're just that awesome. Or we will be, I won't allow anything less.
They moved over to an empty sparring circle, made the seal of confrontation and a teacher bid them hajime.
Suddenly, there was stillness. The other kids were presumably still talking and fighting but they ceased to matter in this moment. Sasuke dropped into the high stance of the Uchiha style while Tetsuo took the low guard of the Strong Fist. He knew he would be stronger and faster than the young child in front of him but the Uchiha would have the edge on experience and instinct, having had sparring partners of similar ages since he could waddle into the ring.
Sasuke opened with a probing strike to his left side, firmly blocked. Tetsuo retaliated with a sweeping kick, deftly avoided and followed by a sharp counter attack which left him hopping backwards out of range. They smiled at each other, this is going to be fun.
Tetsuo darted forwards with a blinding punch towards the left shoulder-
Sasuke twisted back and blocked, staggered by the glancing blow but he kept his head and used the momentum for a high spinning kick towards his enemies' left side-
thud
Stopped dead by a strong left block, chakra keeping Tetsuo's feet anchored. He answered with a snap kick of his own while the Uchiha was off balance, striking his crossed arms and sending him skidding back. "You are skilled, Uchiha," stated Tetsuo with a feral grin, flashing teeth on display, "but too slow!"
"And your moves are rigid, Nakano!" bit back Sasuke before gliding in for a punishing series of fast strikes-
-just intercepted by Tetsuo's stoic blocks. A punch snapped out towards Sasuke's solar plexus-
...and he's choking on the ground clutching his stomach, guess all that strength training paid off, marvelled Tetsuo while clenching and unclenching his fist. The teacher called the match, looking slightly surprised at the turn of events. I guess he is only a six year old after all. Still, he was doing so well. He's right though. I need flexibility to be able to beat people without overpowering them. I can't be stronger than everyone. If we had equal strength and speed I'd have lost. I need experience against skilled opponents, and maybe some weights to simulate fighting opponents of equal speed. And chakra reinforcement, gotta move from unconscious to conscious. So be it. Sasuke began to get to his feet.
"Uchiha! You fight with skill. I have decided that you shall be my Rival!" shouted Tetsuo in a voice that was not quite as weedy as it had been last year. He held out his hand in the seal of reconciliation.
"..oooookay?" answered Sasuke, not understanding the magnitude of what he had just agreed to but still completing the seal out of habit. "I will beat you next time, Nakano." He assured Tetsuo forcefully, forcing the orange eyed boy's smile wider still. Yes, push me. Push me as hard as you can, I'll match you every step of the way. Think yourself my equal as we grow into killers. Then when you fall I'll take off the training weights and grind you into mush.
And that was how Tetsuo made friends with Uchiha Sasuke, pawn of Indra and inheritor of the Curse of Hatred. Later, when he got home, he had a quiet freak out.
ooo
Personal Log - year 6, month 8
Okay, I have my plan for Sasuke. Well, my two plans. First, I'm going to appear to stay even with him through the whole academy while wearing weights. Then, soon after we graduate, I beat him into the ground - for his own good of course. He leaves because he feels he's not getting strong enough in the leaf, and I shall prove him wrong by being a shining example of The Powe-
Oh god, did I almost just do that? That's not right. Have my mental processes been contaminated? Oh gods and silence, how would I know? Wait, I have the perfect way to check, I have a spare brain that should be mostly unchanged from the day I got it. Okay, I need a test that distinguishes between sanity and insanity. Think up a hypothetical situation and decide on my response then evaluate which makes more sense. I don't have anyone sane in this world to ask to check my thinking. Chakra brain, plan for Sasuke. Okay, same basic plan except without the Gai-isms and the eternal rivalry and that is not good.
Wait a minute, no-one sane in this world... What are the major differences between people this world and mine? Chakra in everything and... that's about it. Civilians always seemed pretty normal, it's just... high level... ninja... who are always nuts. Fuck, is chakra level in the body and brain correlated with insanity? I've been training my chakra reserves, have I been slowly going strange? Well obviously yes but I've only been hanging around Gai so that might have happened anyway. Wait, Sakura! She has piddling reserves and she's so batty she has a second personality. She... subconsciously reinforces her strikes with super strength even as a genin. How else did she do all that stuff? She'd be as contaminated as the rest.
Falsify your own conclusions, who doesn't regularly pump chakra into their muscles? Shikamaru who... is the sanest guy here. He's just a normal guy who happens to be born into a situation where he has to be a killer. And the Hokage, who doesn't fight any more. Was he crazier when he was on the front lines and became sane again now that he has a desk job? Danzo has Hashirama cells constantly pushing chakra into him, and he's nuttier than a fruitcake. I'll need to check to make sure, two weeks without using any chakra, then comparative tests to see if I become less eccentric, then use chakra again and more comparisons. Gai won't like me skimping on training and I'll have a hard time in sparring but I need to do this.
Three weeks later
Oh merciful Kami, it's true. If I want to become powerful in this world I will slowly become increasingly strange. Think, how do successful strong shinobi deal with this? Of course, obvious in retrospect! Controlled release of weirdness through strange habits. Don't fight it, channel it. Jiraiya pervs on women and acts like a fool, Gai is Gai, Kakashi reads porn in front of children and never shows up on time, Tsunade gambles all her money away and punches people, Anko plays the exhibitionist. Hardly ideal but compared to what everyone else in this crazy place does it's not that bad. Okay, I can do this, I just need to find some facet of my personality then overplay it to hell and back in a safe manner. What do I have to work with? Obscure pop culture references? Worth a try I guess. Cookery? Yessssssssss. I shall fight a war for hearts and minds with spices as my weapon and marinades as my shield! All shall tremble and kneel before me in wonder at my benevolent rule!
Okay. That happened. Nought to crazy in 1.3 seconds. As if I needed any more evidence. Seemed like the harmless kind though, not like Deidara's 'art, un'. I feel like this habit will stay safe no matter how much chakra suffuses me. Worst case scenario I become snippy in restaurants and get mad if someone insults my food. I'll keep looking for other ways to vent pressure, but this is looking pretty solid. Shameless (and public) perversion will have to wait till I go through puberty again.
Next step, penetrating Sarutobi's defences.
A/N Funnily enough, all signs seem to indicate that before the death of everything he cared about Sasuke had a 'pleasant disposition' and was 'very kind and loving towards his family'. And here I was all set up to write him as cold. Mental trauma changes people who knewPersonal Log - year 7, month 4
My parents apparently weren't rich and most of what they did have was lost when the house was destroyed by the Kyuubi. Fortunately what was left was enough for a slightly better class of ingredients than other orphans, with enough left over for my… projects. Yes, projects is the word. Presumably, I remember thinking, there was some reason everyone doesn't carry a few dozen black powder bombs with them, but it was a simple thing to test over a couple of weeks. Sulphur, saltpetre and coal, ground up fine in a casing with a training explosive tag for a fuse. Low cost, high potential reward. Now the results are in. They are heavy, slow, and in almost all ways inferior to explosive tags. You could get a bigger explosion out of them, but that was largely irrelevant considering any genin could kawarimi out the way by the time such a slow projectile arrived. Could come in handy though...
Anyway. I'm hesitant to try more dangerous combinations like nitroglycerine, considering I can't remember the formula and it traditionally killed enough of the people making it that they had each individual person surrounded by an earth bunker to channel away the force of explosions. The real upside is that extremely careful tests have shown that black powder can in fact be stored and retrieved from storage scrolls without losing any limbs, which is nice.
Nukes are right out, even ignoring the fact that it took over a hundred thousand people to build the first ones, can you imagine Obito with a nuke or five in his kamui ready to drop and run on anyone who shows up? Not good. The radiation might actually beat jinchuuriki healing if that works based on cell division. Can you say super cancer? Because I can say Nope! Normal explosive missiles might work in time. The aiming and cost is the real impediment though. The first rocket artillery were hilariously inaccurate and that's about the level I'd be working at. That, and it's not much good to me if I spend a mission's worth of cash on materials to complete the mission - I'd starve!
Next is rasengan and chakra nature transformations. At the same time I'll be looking into poison. When I first joined the academy I asked why everyone doesn't use poison on everything. They looked at me like I was a bit strange which, okay yeah, a six year old asking about poisoning people in his first week should be a little distressing but still! You go to ninja school to learn how to kill people, I'm just showing initiative! Anyway, I know that Sakura had poisoned blades in the show so presumably I just need to find someone willing to sell deadly substances to a minor. Shouldn't be too hard, this place teaches seven year olds to breathe fire then sends them to the front lines and I'm not sure they know the meaning of health and safety. Jiraiya throwing Naruto off that cliff springs to mind.
All those dramatic looking kunai nicks in the battle you see? Those could have been game over with just a little poison! Even Orochimaru does it. While normally he's a bad example to follow you can't deny his skill at murderizing people into neat, well-catalogued lumps.
I'm sure I can find a use for the spare test explosives I ended up making. Perhaps with a little work...
ooo
Two pairs of eyes peered out of the bushes. They were tense, they had been waiting a long while.
"Is it time yet?" Asked one in a hushed voice.
"Not yet. We want to wait for the right moment." Replied the second. He was more experienced in such things.
"The longer we wait the higher their chances of finding them," countered the first. He sounded concerned now. "It'd be a shame to waste all that effort."
"There, it's Mizuki," a harsh light came into his blue eyes. "Let's do it."
"Katsu."
Light blossomed over the market place, on multiple buildings shaped charges blew simultaneously with a ferocious crack as the people below were thrown into chaos. Clouds of smoke spread through the air as the screaming civilians below were pelted with glitter. The multicoloured storm itched their eyes and got really deep into their hair and clothes so that it would take really an irritating amount of work to get rid of. I mean honestly, who does that? Their panic quickly morphed into indignation as they realised they had become that most terrible of things... sparkly. Mizuki's eye twitched most prettily, outlined as it was in pink and purple glitter.
One the rooftops far above two boys in orange and red streaked away laughing. They managed to get three whole blocks before they were caught and subdued by ANBU then unceremoniously carried to the Hokage's office like two angry sacks of flour.
PoV - The Hokage
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up from his scrying orb, chuckling slightly at the glittery face of a particularly annoying civilian who had a habit of making long and irritating speeches whenever possible. The light streaming in from the windows framed his ancient visage as he took pleasure in the mild discomfort and annoyance of his foes. Truly a great and terrible intellect snickered from under the great and terrible weight of responsibility.
Ah, the benefits of being able to see the whole village truly are many and various, he thought with some amusement. Now, how to deal with these two? It's good to see Naruto making a friend, I just wish he wouldn't drag him into his little hobby. I feel like such an enabler, giving him attention whenever he does something sufficiently disruptive. What about this other one? His eyes were drawn to the open file on one Nakano Tetsuo. Top of his class at Taijutsu, tied with the Uchiha heir. To be expected after his exposure to Gai. Never a test score under 95% including some on subjects he was certainly never taught by us, nor by the orphanage. Uncommonly advanced vocabulary and development, not so expected. Routine follow up into high potential asset shows him spending all his time either at the library, training, eating, with Gai or, and here his eyes widened, designing and crafting explosives and poisons. A bit odd for a seven year old but I've seen stranger, that explains the prank at least.
Passing Inuzuka smelt explosives and called it in. Safety precautions taken by target found to be sufficient to not require direct intervention. Reagents bought with modest inheritance. All prepared explosives and dangerous substances kept in storage scroll, batch quantities insufficient to breach walls - danger to surrounding apartments minimal, he paused in his reading, safety precautions from a 7 year old? Interesting. Designs for missiles found, tactical value minimal. Student declined to skip a year claiming that 'The greater my power level upon graduation the better my longterm survival rate and thus long term mission completion total. I can best serve leaf by staying right here.' and that he 'couldn't leave Shikamaru behind and he's too lazy to follow'. At this point the Hokage let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. The similarities to a certain snake had been building up but the obvious loyalty was a welcome change, so long as it was genuine. It could well be faked.
Genius growth level, obvious loyalty, tight connection to one highly loyal ninja and one clan heir. Last local member of Nakano family. Shows only minor signs of their bloodline. Could be useful. If I wait too long someone else might try the same, but later. Can't reward misbehaviour; I am the Hokage after all. For now, test loyalty and then after-
The military leader of the one of the top forces on the continent was interrupted by the subjects of his thoughts being dumped on the floor by two kneeling ANBU. They signed 'mission accomplished, target secured' then disappeared to the hidden alcoves at his nod of dismissal. If only I could convince Bear to take real time off instead of having to give him these make-work missions. He's going to crack eventually if he won't take a break.
The two new arrivals jumped up, Naruto in a combative stance while Tetsuo was clearly awed to be in the presence of his Hokage, as mumbled swear words fell from his lips.
"I take it I have you two to thank for the state of the market? Naruto-kun I had hoped that you learned your lesson last week after that... incident with the paint, springs, sponges and the frogs. If I'd known you were planning something like this I would have made you do more than just clean up." He fixed Naruto with an implacable stare and released the barest sliver of killing intent. Not enough to be recognised by such youngsters, but plenty to make two young kids feel unaccountably cold. "Well, there's time to fix that oversight. Tetsuo-kun, you may think that because you have good grades you can get away with anything. I assure you this is not the case. Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?" Another trickle of intent.
"Sorry, Hokage-sama," chorused the boys in unison. Their heads were bowed, but he could see defiance in their eyes. It did him good to see such defiance from Minato's son, even if it was inconvenient for him. Still, perhaps a step further.
"Tetsuo-kun you really should know better than to make explosives in a civilian apartment, even if you were careful." The boy flinched at the implied surveillance, clearly off-balance. "I would have been understanding had you used them responsibly, but as you have not I have no choice but to bar you from making chemical explosives until your penultimate year at the academy." That got a reaction.
"But Hokage-sama, I haven't even finished the test missiles yet!" Shouted Tetsuo before clapping a hand over his mouth, clearly uphappy at giving away his plans. Simultaneously Naruto erupted "No way that's so unfair! It was my idea to hit the market anyway."
Tetsuo clearly wouldn't stand for this, "No fucking way am I letting you take the fall for my explosives. I came to you! Not gonna happen, numbskull." Revealing a foul mouth entirely out of keeping with his stature. Genuine loyalty or manipulation? Hiruzen wondered, it's always so annoying dealing with the ones smart enough to be dumb.
Further thoughts were interrupted by Naruto who exploded in return. "Who are you calling numbskull, jackass!?"
"Silence!" Called out the Hokage and in that moment he was every inch the God of Shinobi, lord of battle and seller of death by bulk rate. The light behind him seemed to grow as his shadow lengthened and hidden privacy seals made the sounds of the world outside fall away. "You will both be spending this day and the next cleaning every speck of glitter from the marketplace and if I catch you slacking off you'll be cleaning out the academy cafeteria grease trap! Dismissed!"
The two academy students fled the room.
ooo
Later, when he checked on their progress with his scrying orb he found them sweeping side by side, laughing about Mizuki's reaction to the prank. A smile quirked at the corners of his mouth. "Your kid's doing alright, Minato," he spoke to the darkened, empty room. "I couldn't give him a family, but at least he's found a friend."Two black haired boys lay back in the sun on the grassy slope. Their clothes were scuffed and they each sported their fair share of bruises. Between them was an empty bento box bearing traces of dark and pungent sauces. The wind blew past, rustling the long grass in undulating waves. Like an ocean the fronds bent too and fro, dancing in the light. They had become second years a few months back.
"Hey Sasuke..." began Tetsuo, before trailing off. Hey Sasuke, your clan is going to die soon. I can't stop it, I'm not sure I would if I could. See, they're both cursed and genetically predisposed to being arseholes. Yeah, that'll go down real well, he thought sarcastically.
"Yeah?" Replied the contented Uchiha, oblivious to his companion's turmoil. He had studied, fought and eaten. Now he was resting, and it was glorious.
Fuck, just try to prepare him a bit for what's coming, thought Tetsuo. Anything to help keep him on a sane path afterwards, maybe make it a little easier for him to open up to someone. Lay the damn groundwork. "Did I ever talk about my parents?" He asked, knowing full well he hadn't.
Sasuke noticed his companion's discomfort, aware that this was a sensitive subject. He had seen inside Tetsuo's apartment, it was not softened by a mothers touch, nor knew a fathers hand. He was hyper-aware that how he answered mattered. "Never, before today," he spoke carefully.
"I never knew them properly," he started slowly at first, then faster as the memories flowed. "My best memories of them are the day they died. It was the day the Kyuubi came. Dad never made it out the house, mum got me to the shelters, then went back to the front lines. I still remember her expression. That the creature would pay for daring to attack her home. Never a fiercer woman. I wonder sometimes, if she had known that dad was already dead, would she have stayed back? Could things perhaps have been different? But then I remember her face and I think she would have charged in anyway." His eyes were dark in this retelling, thinking what he could have had.
"I wanted it dead, for a long while. It put itself ahead of a whole village, thousands of people dead because of one being. I wanted to punish it, it and everyone who decided putting a biju in a woman was a good idea when they knew that pregnancy would weaken the seals. Everyone who was involved." He laughed, bitterly. "It was the reaction of a child. No nuance, no understanding, no hope of improving the world.
"I think, in the end, that all value flows from people living good lives. So, I decided that I would take the path that saved the most lives and did the most good. The past of a person is meaningless, except as a way to understand their future actions. Vengeance is pointless, except as a way to halt future actions." He hadn't planned this, and was rambling slightly, hoping something would catch in the Uchiha's mind, something he would come back to at his lowest point and perhaps take a different path. He no longer cared if he was acting in line with his age. His friend was going to lose a part of himself, maybe most of himself and there was nothing he could do. "I don't hate the Kyuubi. Not any more. If I get the chance to get close to a similar being, I will follow the path that leads to such a thing never happening again. If that means destroying it, so be it. Not for those it has killed in the past, but for those it will kill in the future. To lose myself in hate would be just adding another death to the pile. My own."
Sasuke was momentarily stunned by this outpouring of words and emotion. Tetsuo did not normally talk much about anything other than fighting or insane ideas that sounded as deadly as they were impractical. "So you wouldn't seek revenge on a killer?" He asked, confused.
"Not revenge, no. Maybe I'd kill him to discourage similar acts in the future, or if I thought he would keep killing." Mused Tetsuo, taking his question seriously. "Doesn't matter so much if I end them or someone else though, so long as they end up in the ground. Otherwise it's just pride, not retribution."
"Doesn't that mean you should be a trader or something, then?" Questioned Sasuke, eyebrows drawing together.
"Ah, well normally it would, wouldn't it? Let's just say sometimes there are people that must be stopped, for the good of all." Replied Tetsuo softly, thinking of a man who made children kill their emotions then their friends, thinking of world that sometimes seemed like it wanted to end. "Tell me when you figure it out."
"Tetsuo, you are very strange. You know that?" Then stiffened as he immediately regretted his words. Some things were not said after a friend finally opened up about his dead parents. Tetsuo didn't seem to mind though as a strange smile split his face.
"Only one of my kind on this whole damn planet. Accept no imitations," Tetsuo declared warmly with a small laugh. "Now come on, Hinata's Gentle Fist is kicking my arse, lets work on our deflections." Yes, definitely a strange boy. Sasuke liked him anyway though, he was the only boy he could fight all out with, and that was enough.
A/N Two updates today because I skipped yesterday. The Massacre approaches. Edited things a little because it turns out propaganda says Kyuubi is dead. Went back and edited this chapter a bit, it needed it.