No one can truly tell you what dying feels like. The hope of a better next life, the crushing disappointment in ones' self, the desire to do more, the burning need to say goodbye one last time… All these emotions and more poured through me as I laid dying on the floor of a local store, my lifeblood pouring out of me.
Don't get me wrong, I knew my life was over. I knew that my wound was fatal. But the heart… the heart yearns for something beyond logic, something beyond cold, hard facts. So my heart cried out, "Why is this happening? Why does a single, selfless act have to result in my death? Why is life so cruel, so unfair?"
Little did I know that whoever heard that little plea had a… sense of irony rivaled by none, based on the place I ended up. A world embroiled in war. A world full of unfairness, where one is never born equal. A world full of strife, of families slaughtered, one that had hoped for a better future, yet would require a river of blood to reach it.
The world created by Kishimoto Masashi. The Ninja World.
Excerpt from Uchiha Miho's Journal, Volume I. Published Post Mortem.
A baby generally comes into the world crying. This is a known fact. A baby does not, however, come into the world full of memories of a past life, sobbing. I wasn't aware when I was in the womb, thank god, but the instant I was pushed out of it, the vague sensations of warmth transformed into the cold reality of my situation. My family was gone. My previous life was over. Nothing in my power could stop that.
"It's a girl, Uchiha-san." A voice called softly as I stared up at the blurry figure I guessed was speaking, "Seems like- That can't be right."
"What's wrong Sarutobi-san?" A male voice called, "Is my child-"
The blurry figure's head shook, even as my vision began to clear. What- What the hell were they talking about? I recognized some of the names, Sarutobi and Uchiha were familiar to me, but- Shit.
"Her sharingan is awakened." The woman holding me stated flatly.
"Impossib- Kami above! It is!" The male voice cut in again before his vitriol turned to awe. "How is this possible?"
The blurred figure's arm reached down towards me, covered in green light.
"I don't know, but it's straining her chakra network."
Having been silent for a few moments as I contemplated in shock exactly what my situation was, I groaned internally. I wasn't familiar with Japanese anymore, though I could speak it, somewhat, conversationally. This was going to suck.
"Is there something you can do, Sarutobi-san?" A female voice called, "I don't want anything to happen to my daughter."
My vision was finally clear now, and- Oh lord. I could see what must have been the chakra of the three in the room, and-
My family. They were my new family. Some inner, base instinct told me this. I rebelled against the very thought. My family was still alive… just forever out of my reach.
My sobs renewed themselves after a full minute of silence, and I tuned out the frantic ramblings of my new birth parents and the med-nin as I wailed to the sky, cursing whatever it was that had sent me here, unable to watch over my family even in death.
Within my eyes, I felt something shift as I mourned the loss of all my loved ones, all those I had cared for, unaware of my newly acquired sharingan slowly leaking tears of blood as it morphed into something more.
Awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan at the tender age of a few seconds old shocked my parents something fierce. The truth was needed, and something I, unfortunately, couldn't communicate till my grasp of Japanese was good enough. Until then, I continue to write my journal twice over, once in English, once in Hiragana. Not much else happened in my younger years. I was fully depressed for a solid year before I finally kicked myself into gear. No more lamenting what was lost. Not without moving forward. Not without living the life my loved ones would have wanted me to live. I think it was the night of the Kyuubi that knocked some sense into me. The sheer terror I felt when swamped by Kurama's killing intent was enough to kick my survival instincts and pride into overdrive. I would never be as afraid as I had been during that night ever again.
So, I trained. Because I knew where I was. I knew what world I resided in. The Ninja World gave zero shits if you were innocent. You either were strong, or you died. I hated it. I hated it so much it hurt. But that was the laws of this world, and by God was I going to live a good life.
So, on the eve of my fifth birthday, I told my parents the truth. In return, I asked for only one thing. "Teach me how to be an Uchiha."
Excerpt from Uchiha Miho's Journal, Volume I. Published Post Mortem
"-Once again, I'm sorry… haha-ue, chichi-ue." I finished, tears leaking from my activated sharingan.
Neither of my parent's eyes were dry, either. Both had cried at points in my story, not out of sadness, but the very fact I was calling them by what they had always desired from me. Simply to be my mother and father. And this was the first time I had even referred to them as such. In reflection, I had been a terrible daughter, and I was fully intending to fix that, even if I couldn't do so all too well.
"Miho." My father spoke, drying his eyes, "I am proud of you. Proud of you for telling us the truth. Proud of you for breaking out of your depression on your own. Most of all, proud of you for giving us this chance."
My mother nodded, drying her eyes as well. "Thank you, Miho. You are forgiven, my child."
I sniffled wetly. It felt good to unbear the burden that I had shouldered for so long, throwing my tiny arms around my mother as I tackled her in a hug. It was nice, finding it in myself to love someone again, especially in the sense of familial love. Uchiha Naori and Uchiha Naka more than deserved the chance that I had given them, one could even say I owed it to them.
"Now, Miho, my daughter." Father- no, dad- spoke after a solid ten minutes of silence, "you asked your mother and I for additional training. We will begin tomorrow, after the party that Fugaku-sama is holding in your honor."
I blinked. "May I ask why I am receiving Fugaku-sama's favor, papa?"
"He is aware of your Mangekyo-Sharingan, and it is traditional for the Clan Head to celebrate the awakening of a child's sharingan. It is also traditional to mourn the awakening of a Mangekyo."
I blinked, deactivating my sharingan. "Mourn?"
Mom nodded. "Yes, mourn. We mourn the experience our clanmate had gone through to receive one. Power is not everything to the Uchiha, at least, not since Madara's time as Clan Head."
I nodded slowly. It made sense. It also humanized the Uchiha clan quite a bit and made Madara an outlier instead of the standard. Which was nice, in a way.
"Now Miho, I will provide you with the scroll for the coming of age Jutsu. I expect you to have the basics down before the party tomorrow." Dad said, smirking. "Now that I know you're mentally older, I'll be expecting far more out of you during training."
I gulped, before nodding. "Fair enough, papa."
"Again, Miho." Mom stated.
I nodded, settling into the basic stance of Taka-no-Mai as I repeated the kata that mom had me memorize, nodding in satisfaction as I performed it correctly, and within the time limit given.
"Now, sharingan on. Watch my movements, and figure out how to best implement it into the Interceptor's Dance."
Uchiha Naori rapidly ran through a series of more advanced kata from the Uchiha's taijutsu as I watched with my sharingan activated, each movement being ingrained into my mind as I copied it. Mentally running through how to implement the movements into my body, I flowed through the original kata mom had asked me to run through, adding the fluid movements that my mother had gone through to the taijutsu style.
"Good. Take a break for self-study Miho. I know you've been itching to look at the scroll your father gave you."
I nodded happily, running quickly over to where I had left my belongings and grabbing the scroll detailing the use of Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu. Knowing my dad, it was probably a solidly comprehensive guide that I would just barely be able to understand, but would give me, upon comprehension, the ability, theoretically, to perform it much faster than the traditional method. I could, of course, cheat and copy it, but that was frowned upon.
A solid hour later, and I was ready to try my hand at the jutsu, running through the handsigns slowly to get a feel for how they kneaded my chakra, not actually releasing the jutsu or actively channeling the chakra into the technique. Another thirty minutes later, I was finally satisfied that I had somewhat of an idea of what I was doing. I breathed deeply, turned to face the sky, and ran through the handsigns as rapidly as I dared.
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" I called, expelling the chakra from my body through my mouth, making sure that the entire portion of my body that the flames would travel through was shielded by chakra. It worked. The decent-sized fireball flew from my mouth into the sky, detonating sometime later as the chakra holding its shape destabilized.
"Well done Miho!" mom called my side, engulfing me in a hug, "your first try, even!"
I blushed, muttering something along the lines of 'not really', and explaining my methodology to my mother, who nodded.
"That is generally how chunin and jonin level ninja approach learning new ninjutsu, well done. No wonder you got it on your first "active" try. You knew exactly how to mold your chakra. Still, impressive."
"Why don't genin-level ninja practice that way?" I asked, panting lightly.
"They generally cannot sense their chakra as well as chunin and jonin, Miho-san, and have less chakra than a chunin or jonin, as a general rule." An unfamiliar voice stated. Mother turned and bowed at our guest.
"Fugaku-sama, what can I assist you with today?"
The newly named Clan Head nodded in my direction. "I was training on another field when I noticed the Gokakyu from this field. Imagine my surprise when Miho-san here was the one responsible for it, at such a young age as well."
Mom puffed up in pride, though with much more subtly than I did. "Thank you, Fugaku-sama." I replied, bowing, "Father's scroll helped a lot."
Fugaku nodded. "Uchiha Naka was always good with Ninjutsu, even if it did get him into some trouble. Do not follow down his former path, young Miho. It will only end in tears. Thankfully, your mother sacrificed much to teach your father the errors of his ways."
I looked at my mother, asking a silent question. She shook her head slowly. "Later, Miho." She replied, "Fugaku-sama, how are Satsuki-sama and Itachi-sama doing?"
Fugaku gave my mom a smile, something that I learned later was something he rarely did. "Satsuki is learning the arts of our clan well, though she is not quite advanced as young Miho here. Itachi has joined ANBU, as you are aware. He is currently deployed as one of the Sandaime's guards on the yearly trip to Sunagakure-no-Sato."
Mom frowned. "I had thought Itachi was assigned to Uzumaki-san."
Fugaku nodded. "He is. Uzumaki-san accompanied the Hokage on his trip, by her request, and by the Third's will."
I made a low, keening sound as I comprehended what they were talking about. Oh, fantastic. I was in a different version of Naruto than canon, seeing as the main characters were both female.
"Is something wrong, Miho-chan?" Mom asked, turning her attention to me. I shook my head, mouthing 'later', not even attempting to be subtle. Mom nodded, accepting my wish for privacy for what it was. Fugaku, in a move that shouldn't have been surprising, kept silent, respecting my wish for privacy as well.
"Regardless, Uchiha Miho." I stood straighter as Fugaku-sama addressed me directly, "You have earned the right to wear our clan's symbol. You are now, in the eyes of the Clan, a full-fledged member of the Uchiha Clan."
I bowed deeply, "Arigatou, Fugaku-sama. I will wear the symbol of our clan with honor."
"See that you do, Uchiha Miho." He stated, his posture softening. "And, regardless of how you obtained your Mangekyo, the Clan mourns with you, and for you. You are not the same individual you once were. We honor your courage in pressing forward in the face of such loss." Fugaku paused. "Uchiha Naori!"
"Hai, Fugaku-sama." Mom replied.
"Your request is granted. You are permitted to seek out an Uchiha med-nin to perform the procedure, after the traditional mourning period. May you and your child's light never be lost."
Mom bowed deeply, "Thank you, Fugaku-sama. I will not abuse this trust."
The Clan Head grunted, smiling. "You have not thus far Naori. I doubt your selflessness would allow you to be anything but a splendid kunoichi for the leaf." The clan head paused, then sighed. "It was your daughter and Naka that gave the council pause. It was not too long ago that Naka abused his power and ability with a kinjutsu, requiring you to stop him with a kinjutsu specifically developed for that situation. As a result, two of my best shinobi are now blind in their right and left eye, respectively."
Mom flinched but nodded. "Naka has changed. You know this. The council knows this. I know this."
Fugaku simply nodded. "We shall see. We shall see indeed. I wish you a good night, Uchiha Naori, Uchiha Miho. I shall see you tomorrow for Miho's Birthday."
A few minutes after Fugaku-sama had left, I turned to face my mom. "What was that about mom?"
Mom shook her head. "Not now Miho-chan. I'll tell you when we get home. Your father needs to hear this too." With that, mother turned on her heel, beckoning me to follow. "We're done training for the night. You have a break from training tomorrow, Miho."
I sighed, nodding. "Okay, mom. I'm coming. Give me a second to collect my stuff."
AN: Welcome to Sapere Aude, or, Dare to Know. This story started out as a response to the "Puppetmaster Naruto" snippet written by
@CmptrWz in his snippet thread, and evolved into so much more, for the better or worse. The intent behind this story is to explore some of the unexplored segments of Naruto, and play around with some of the tropes I'm familiar with. It is safe to say this World is
completely AU. I don't like canon following stories. Canon is a tool, not a path to tread. As such, elements of this world are different from Kishimoto-san's world, while other elements remain similar, or the same. As another major note, I'm ignoring most, if not all of Boruto at the moment. I simply do not want to deal with the stuff revealed in Boruto in my story, not because I dislike the franchise. Finally, I'd like to thank my Patreons: Ttw1, Adrian Tucker, and J Frost. I thank you for your support and hope you enjoy the story.
AN 2: Updates will be weekly for the first three chapters, then will take on a Bi-Weekly schedule.
