"Remember, Okami. Victory is the ultimate form of your strength. By any means, if you achieve victory, it means you're stronger, smarter, better. Remember that."
"But what if the opponent is strong, like you, Grandpa?"
"It's not about strength." Setsuna tapped his temple with a finger. "This is what matters. The key is how you manage that strength. If you have the power of a Biju but you're a talentless fool, no amount of chakra will help you."
---
"…you should be screaming!" Staring at his crazed face, I weighed my options. Options, options. What to do? There was no time to think.
Sharingan! Attempting to cast a genjutsu, I was shocked that it took him barely a breath to break free.
"What, you pup, thought that would work on me?" He began forming seals.
"Water Release: Shark Bite!"
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire!"
Attacking simultaneously, we canceled each other's techniques. The room, about the size of my house, filled with smoke that hid me from the shark's eyes.
Through my Sharingan, I saw him create a water clone. I mirrored him, creating two clones. Our reserves are comparable, so a war of attrition won't work. I need to go for the kill immediately.
Chidori!
Lightning enveloped my left hand. As the old man said, shinobi battles don't last long if there's a gap in skill or reserves. I'm not sure about my skills, so I need to hit him with something he doesn't know. He's an experienced opponent—looks to be in his thirties.
Forward! My clones attacked alongside me. I knew I was targeting a clone, but I couldn't pinpoint his real body—he seemed to meld with the water in the room. All I could do was walk into the trap and wait for him to reveal himself.
My thoughts took a second. I attacked the clone. My clones pursued from different angles: one behind me, the other to the left.
Piercing the enemy's clone, which, judging by its surprised face, didn't see me coming, I used the Kawarimi substitution technique with the clone that leapt from above. One clone was still to the left. I barely made it.
Gurgle
The clone's head exploded from a massive sword this shark bastard pulled out of nowhere. If I hadn't mastered clones, I'd have been in trouble. The Chidori dissipated during the substitution.
"Chidori Eisō!"
I shouted the technique due to the effort of creating a new one I'd recently developed. The experiments paid off.
The Chidori Spear pierced a hole through the shark's shoulder. He managed to point a finger at me, shooting a high-pressure water jet, but his movements were clear to me, so I only got a small cut on my temple. He jumped back to my starting position and clutched his shoulder. Landing next to my remaining clone, I attacked immediately, not waiting for words. Rat → Ox → Dog → Horse → Monkey → Boar → Tiger.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
I can't yet perform this technique with a single seal like Madara, but I have enough chakra. This should hit him even harder. As the old man said, he learned this from an Uchiha he fought multiple times. Even he was once caught by this technique.
A torrent of fire poured from my mouth. Steam from my attack spread, the temperature like hell itself. Suddenly, the enemy's arena technique collapsed.
Did I kill him? No way.
No. In the distance, fleeing, I saw a figure through my Sharingan. Yes, he's escaping! You won't get away!
Just as I was about to chase him, I heard a scream.
"Okami!" Masaki shouted, cradling a pale Kero. His stomach was covered in blood. "He needs help!"
Damn it. While I was inspecting the corpses of those my teammates fought, the wounded shark-head escaped. Fine, next time I'll kill him for sure.
---
*Third-Person Perspective*
Kemeko Kiragiruzu felt mixed emotions. He was furious that he, the Clan Head, was wounded by some kid who was still playing in the sandbox when Kemeko was already seizing power in his clan. On the other hand, he was shocked by his opponent's strength. Such power at such an age was too astonishing. "Monster," Kemeko thought. He needed to come up with something fast. If this kid was allowed to grow at this age, in five years, his clan would face a formidable enemy.
Though his clan was more numerous, it had few truly strong shinobi. Only ten, including Kemeko, were noteworthy. The Uzumaki hadn't even sent anyone over fifty. Just their youth had been fighting the Kiragiruzu Clan for a month. Kemeko only recently learned this from the Hyuga. The cunning Clan Head pondered what to do. If things continued like this, they'd lose.
The Uchiha! It struck Kemeko. He could sell the information they'd been seeking for a decade.
"Hahaha. They'll definitely be intrigued." A maniacal grin spread across the Shark's burned face.
---
A week passed since that memorable fight. Kero recovered quickly with an iryonin on hand, so there was no need to worry. Returning to the clan, our team naturally disbanded. Masaki went back to the hospital to work, while Kero didn't say where his duties took him, only that he owed me. I took it calmly, knowing that without me, he'd have died there.
Only after talking with the old man did I learn that it was the Kiragiruzu Clan Head I'd wounded in the shoulder and burned. After I recounted the battle and how an entire Clan Head fled from me, he laughed for a long time. I didn't understand why, if I was such a weak opponent, we hadn't wiped them all out yet.
As the old man explained, it was to let the youth under fifty test themselves in battle and weed out those who didn't grow. Cruel? Definitely. After I wounded the Clan Head and forced him to flee, my fame spread through the clan. The old man said that if they wanted, Setsuna alone could crush the strongest of the enemy clan, and if the Clan Head himself joined the fight, he could kill over fifty like the Kiragiruzu Head. I knew my strength and that of the elders, who'd been developing for a century, weren't equal, but I was still surprised. Seeing my shock, the old man said I was developing abnormally fast and would catch up to him in ten to fifteen years, especially if I kept creating new techniques and improving them. I didn't mention that I was copying them from memory. Knowing the end result made it possible to replicate less complex ninjutsu.
Now, moving through the clan, every young member felt obligated to pat me on the back and say I did great. God, I lasted three days. After that, I had to move across rooftops.
After another training session, lunch was approaching. I sat under a tree's canopy, resting after training, craving a bath.
Evaluating the results, the grueling training paid off—I'd achieved a lot for my ten-something years. Time had become fluid; I stopped noticing days and weeks passing in constant battles and training. I understood my goal. I knew how much I'd have to sacrifice. I avoided social bonds: friends, romance, comrades. None of that mattered to me.
I was weak. And if I was weak, someone could take my loved ones from me. By force. That was my worldview. Only the strong could dictate the terms of life. If I were as strong as a thousand Ashinas, the Uzumaki Clan Head, no one would dare breathe a word against my loved ones. My clan. I'd grown too attached to little Mito.
Strength. That's what matters in this world. And when I gain the strength I want, all my decisions will be made without worrying about the lives of my loved ones. The old man was stronger than anyone, so I didn't worry about him. Kotetsu was always nearby.
"What are you thinking about, grandson?" The old man's figure blocked the sun.
"Strength," I answered honestly.
"Oh? And what about it?"
"That if I'm weak, someone could take my loved ones." Damn, I forgot. "Sorry, Grandpa, I didn't mean to bring it up."
"It's fine." I realized now that my old man was old—too old, I'd say. "You're thinking right." He sat beside me. "But why such thoughts, little wolf?"
"After facing the shark Clan Head and after you explained the true purpose of this war, I realized how weak I am if just one opponent like that gives me trouble."
"Heh-heh-heh." He patted my head—pleasant. "You're too hard on yourself, Okami. At your age, if I'd faced an opponent like that, I'd have died in five seconds without understanding a thing. You're unique, Okami, remember that. No matter how much I downplay you to keep your ego in check, such strength at your age is remarkable. Your heart must always know you're a son of great clans, and your destiny is beyond the grasp of ordinary people. So enough worrying and tell me how your training with the style is going."
"You're right." I felt his words made sense, and I shouldn't dwell on my weakness—time would sort it out. "I've learned to channel chakra into my fingers and strike from about three meters away. But for days, I haven't been able to replicate what you did years ago, old man. That strike by the waterfall was too strange."
"Yeah, what have you tried?"
"Well, look." I started counting on my fingers. "I tried adding an element, putting in more force, increasing speed, even charging my hand with lightning like Chidori and using the style's movement, but that's only good for close combat. Sure, it's more dangerous, but not enough to justify learning it. Maybe you used Wind, but I don't have direct control over my element. But you wouldn't show me something I couldn't learn."
"Hmm. Your ideas have merit, but as your mentor, I won't keep you waiting. I've already spent too little time with you because of the hospital. Listen…"
"Oh, sorry, old man." I wanted to ask a question before I forgot. "What about the body of that guy with the speed kekkei genkai and the Hyuga? The eyes are valuable, right?"
"No worries, I understand your curiosity. I was curious too. And I've made some progress." He was visibly proud of himself. No way.
"You managed to implant a kekkei genkai in someone?!"
"Better, grandson." He raised a finger. "I created a seal based on his chakra. Kotetsu played a big role in that, by the way." That's why she was at the hospital—I thought she was helping heal people.
"A seal? How does it work, and why is it better?"
"Exactly, a seal. Let me explain: the Uzumaki Clan's kekkei genkai is too—how do I put it simply—powerful."
"Powerful?" I couldn't hold back when I heard that. My scientific curiosity was piqued.
"Yes, don't interrupt." I covered my mouth with my hands to avoid cutting into the fascinating topic.
"You don't yet understand the full scope of my research, but I hope you will in the future when you can practice iryoninjutsu. For now, I'll explain so you understand. Our clan's kekkei genkai is so powerful and unique that it rejects other bloodline inheritances when implanted. If you haven't noticed, our chakra is dense, though in your case, not as much as in purebloods. But for pureblood Uzumaki, including me, our chakra is so dense that we can't accept other inheritances. Our blood and chakra reject them and simply absorb them, giving nothing in return. In some cases, it even causes harm. That's why our ninja don't have Sharingan or Byakugan. When transplanted, the eyes simply don't work—they go blind and wither. It's as if the body itself rejects those eyes. The speed kekkei genkai wouldn't take either—I'd say it would even harm the entire body. So I didn't experiment further with it. But I managed to extract some benefit by observing it."
I pondered as he explained the details. That's all well and good, but it doesn't explain how Madara transplanted his eyes to young Nagato. He's an Uzumaki, so the eyes should've been rejected. Or is the Rinnegan unique in that our bodies accept it? Though, seeing what Nagato became, living with the Rinnegan his whole life, it's clear even an Uzumaki body couldn't handle those eyes. But why don't Sharingan and Byakugan take?
"…and that's why. Did you get it?"
"Partially, but yeah. Thanks for explaining. It was enlightening."
"I'm glad you're interested in my research. Your father and uncle weren't interested in this part of shinobi life. At least you can carry on my will in research."
"Oh, don't talk like you're dying tomorrow, old man. You've got years ahead of you."
"You're right, but you never know where death is waiting." He smiled at me. "As for the Hyuga, that's for us old folks to handle. You're not ready to dive into politics yet, but I'll say this: those white-eyed masters disavowed those shinobi, saying they acted on their own. So now we have three pairs of eyes, and the Clan Head is looking for a use for them."
"Three?"
"Yes, besides your group, two others encountered Hyuga and took their eyes."
"Got it. So what does this seal do?"
"That's a secret, my young apprentice." He grinned slyly. "It'll be a surprise for you in the future." He stood and walked to the center of the training ground. "Now, let me explain the next stage of the claw technique. Get up—we've got training ahead. The war will end in the coming months. You need to gain even more experience before it's over. This time, Ashina himself will go with you. The Clan Head said it's time to end this war."
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