NARUTO SI: A Burdened Soul (Elder Brother to Itachi SI)

Chapter 21

FUGAKU UCHIHA

The death of the Third Raikage had stalled the war. The man was a shinobi unlike any, and despite being outnumbered by thousands, the man had held strong. Killing, and slaughtering hundreds upon hundreds of Konoha in all by himself, and there was a time he had feared the worst.

Had feared that the man might do to them what Namikaze had done to Iwa's forces, and that fear had driven him to use his Mangekyo Sharingan. And even then, fighting him with all his might, it had taken nearly a hundred shinobi to finally put down the man, and of the hundred who had joined the fight with him, only a dozen remained.

That was the power of the Third Raikage.

But the man was gone. Dead, and with him, any chance of victory for Kumogakure. His own belief was that a truce would be reached soon enough, yet even now there was a tacit understanding as the war stalled, as Konoha recovered and buried its dead, while allowing Kumo to do the same for their own.

However, the Raikage's body was another thing. It was an asset. A political asset that could be employed strategically, and there was yet to be a decision regarding that.

However, tales and stories of battles had begun to spread. And from Iwa's side, Namikaze's slaughter had become the tale on every tongue, as every Konoha shinobi proudly spoke of the Yellow Flash. On their side, the stories did not speak of a single shinobi, for there were many heroes.

They talked of him, the Wicked Eye Fugaku who had led the assault on Kumo's second host, slipping their entire force through the Kumo defense lines without any disturbance. They talked of the thousand men who had faced the Raikage of Orochimaru, the man who had led the first attack against Kumo's forces, changing the tides in their favor.

And then they talked of the boy infront of him—of Izuna Uchiha, his own son. Izuna the Devourer, Izuna of the Blue Flames, The Teleporter, there were many monikers for him, but his name was now nearly as famous as his own, but this time, the fame was not just because of the promise of potential that he may one day reach.

No, it was because of what he had done, what he had achieved as only a nine-year-old chunin.

"You have done well, Izuna," he complimented the boy, whose expression was as dull as he sat there under a tree looking at the camp in infront of him. Their forces had joined together a few days ago, yet they had not had the opportunity to meet, given the sheer number of dead and injured.

Izuna, being an iryo-nin, was very busy taking care of the injured while Fugaku was assessing the dead and resting and recovering himself from the chakra exhaustion he had suffered from his fight against the Third Raikage.

"It was nothing too great," he spoke in a dull tone as he sighed, and Fugaku realised in that moment that him and his son were more alike than he had thought. Both of them cared little for the fame or the reputation. For them, it was a mission.

"You had everyone fooled," he mentioned as he sat down beside him, remembering how for the past six months, the boy had made everyone, including himself, believe that he had given him. That he had given up on fighting and had planned to leave fighting, to become an Iryo-nin.

"You let everyone believe that you were becoming a medic while you honed your skills in secret," and while that was not a surprise, he was more surprised that the boy had hidden the truth from his own village, his own clan.

Even his own father. And he could still not understand the reason behind it? Though ever since his first mission, he rarely understood what went behind in the depths of that ominous gaze.

"It was not all a ruse," the boy replied, deflecting from the main point as his hand glew with the green hue of iryo-ninjutsu.

"I did become an Iryo-nin and did learn iryo-ninjutsu in these six months," he answered as he looked him in the eye.

"And I never did say that I planned on becoming an iryo-nin, did I?" as he thought of that, he realized it to be true. Even during the meetings with the elders or with him and the other clan members.

He had never uttered a single word about his intentions.

"Indeed, you never did say that," he agreed with a smile, and he was proud of him—he always had been. But now he was much at ease, for this would shut up the clan elders, at least, who had been running their mouths afoul about him ever since his first mission.

"Speaking of that, you did plan to be a Hokage when you were young," he remembered, and it was from the times the boy had not even entered the academy. And given what he had achieved, he was beginning to think that there was a great chance he might just be able to do that.

"I did dream of that once. But I don't think it will be possible now," the boy whispered as he saw those eyes narrow dangerously, and there was murder in that gaze. Hate and unbridled rage.

"What are you talking about, Izuna?" he asked concernedly as his son turned to face him.

"Do you want to be the Hokage father?" he asked him, and Fugaku was taken aback by the question. And as much as his clan would wish for that to be his desire and destiny.

And as a father he was supposed to act as a role model for his children. But Izuna. Had he really ever been a child. And he was a chunin now, set for another promotion as soon as he returned to the village.

The boy deserved the truth, and so Fugaku shook his head.

"No, I have never desired to go to the Hokage," he answered, and he saw the boy nod.

"I see," but even then, he could not understand what was going on in his head. Nor could he get himself to ask.

"It is a good thing th..." but before he could finish, his vice-commander appeared infront of him.

"Fugaku-sama," he spoke in a lighter tone. He gave Izuna a nod and smile.

"What happened?" he asked, for given his tone and posture, it did not seem to be an emergency. Shinku Yuhi took a small booklet from his pocket and threw it towards him.

"The Bingo Book was just updated," the man informed him, and that was as expected, especially after battles of such enormity and casualties; it was a night certainty that the Bingo Book would be updated.

Fugaku had had an entry in it for years, though not one with a significant bounty, given that he rarely participated in missions outside of Konoha being the Police Chief.

"You are now an S-ranked target. Kumo's put a massive price on your head," and that was to be expected as he scanned through the booklet, but he saw that a page was folded.

And it was not his page.

"Namikaze has an S-rank bounty as well," Yuhi continued but the page he had opened belonged to neither of them. No, it was the face of his son.

Izuna now had an entry, and as he saw the rank, he was a bit surprised.

"And so does our Izuna-kun," Shinku continued as he smiled at his son.

"Kumo has put an S-ranked bounty on him as well. And I guess it's also official now, his moniker...."

For on the page was the title.

'Izuna Uchiha-The Devourer---S-Rank---Kill On Sight'

0000

DODAI-The Kumogakure Jounin Commander

The atmosphere in the Raikage office was both tense and strange for him. Dodai had spent years in this very office, standing at this very place as he acted as the Third's right hand man, helping him govern over Kumogakure for more than a decade.

But no more.

The Third was no more. The pride of their village, Kumogakure's strongest sword and shield dead trying to shield their retreating force, as he bought them valuable time to shore up their defenses so that their village would not suffer a fate similar to what Iwagakure had suffered.

Alone, he had stood against more than a thousand Konoha-nin. Fighting them for days all by himself, killing hundreds until he was finally felled down.

And the whole of Kumogakure mourned his loss, yet none more than the man who now sat in his seat. He was young yet, but the whole village could only look upto him in these perilous times. And if there was anyone who could lead Kumogakure in these times, it was his son, their next Raikage, Unruly Ay.

"I have read the terms myself. They are fair," he added as he knelt infront of the man, and Konoha had sent them an offer of truce—peace for a minimum of three years, for the return of their Raikage's remains.

And for all his loathing for that damned village, it was a fair offer. One that benefitted them more than Konoha.

"Damn its fairness!" the young man roared in rage, and he was yet to be inaugurated as the next Raikage, but it was but procedural. He was the obvious choice to inherit the Third's throne.

He was the only one who could.

"I want to crush them! I want to kill them! All of them!" he raged, even as tears welled up in those young eyes, and more than their kage, the third was his father. He could scarcely imagine what the young man was going through.

"We have to accept the offer, Ay-sama. There are reports that Konoha is making peace with Iwa as we speak; if we deny this offer and they reach a peace deal with Iwa, then we would be left all alone against them," he added, and it hurt his pride to say the exact words. But they were the reality. They were the truth, bitter as they may be.

"And given the lay of the land, we will be at a massive disadvantage if the war continues," he added, and he knew that the young man infront of him understood that as well, but it was not an easy decision to make.

To give up on revenge.

"If you agree to the terms, I will go and personally collect the..."

"NO!" he cut him off as he stood up.

"I will go myself to collect my father's remains," he added as Dodai nodded.

"And modify the terms. The truce, it will begin an hour after the exchange not a second before that," and Dodai's eyes widened at that.

"You cannot mea..."

"And get me Bee! I am going to rampage for an hour and see what those tree huggers are made of!"

CRACK!

And as his chakra roared, lightning cloaked his body as it did his predecessor, as he broke the table with a single strike, as Dodai felt himself taken aback by the similarity between the father and son.

"You said it was an Uchiha wasn't it?" he suddenly questioned as Dodai was lost in thought, but he hurriedly nodded.

"Yes, it was. Though not yet confirmed, we know that it was Fugaku Uchiha who led the attack. Amongst the Konoha ranks, he is the only shinobi capable of killing Lord Third," and the young Master's eyes narrowed.

"Konoha would wish to gloat and will probably send the man to the truce. I will meet him then and see just what kind of a man he is," the young master smirked as he turned towards the massive window and looked at the village.

"Make arrangements for the funeral as well. Pops died a hero, and it is imperative that the people of this village understand the sacrifice he made for them. He should be honred as a hero in his last moments," and that was certain.

"As you say, Ay-sama," he spoke and rose up, but before he left the office the man called after him.

"Those bounties I asked you about," he questioned as Dodai turned to face him and nodded.

"It is done, an S-rank bounty has been placed on Fugaku Uchiha's head," he added but the man shook his head.

"Good, but I read the reports and found myself another shinobi of interest," and at that the man spoke of a name.

"Izuna Uchiha," and Dodai's fists balled up as he thought of that shinobi. For while Fugaku Uchiha may have struck the final nail in the coffin, this whole offensive and counterattack had started with him.

That damned nine-year-old brat.

They had heard rumors about him. Even as a child he was hailed as a prodigy, whispered to be a cut even above the likes of Minato Namikaze and the rest. It was why they had sacrificed their men to target him, and they had thought their mission successful until but a few weeks ago.

And the boy had remerged, and had showed them just why he was spoken of with such reverence and fear. He was indeed a cut above the likes of Minato and the rest of Konoha's prodigies, for even Namikaze was not as dangerous and loathsome as a nine-year-old.

The boy had slaughtered several units of their men and had single-handedly made this entire counterattack possible.

"Yes, he is Fugaku Uchiha's son. He is a dangerous shinobi and is only nine years of age," he added and saw the man nod.

"I know. Put one on him as well," he added, and his eyes widened as he realized what he meant.

"An S..."

"Yes," he finished.

"Fugaku Uchiha took my Pops from me. If I cannot kill the man, then I will make sure that I take his son from him. With an S-ranked bounty, all of the assassins will salivate after him, and the next time the kid steps out of Konoha, every crook on this continent will hound him," and that was dangerous and unprecedented.

No nine-year-old had ever had an A-ranked bounty. Let alone an S-ranked one.

But if there was ever a child who deserved such a thing, it was him. For if this was what he was capable of as a nine-year-old. Dodai could hardly imagine the menace he would grow up to be in his later years.

And so, in that regard, this was the smartest thing to do, even smarter than putting a bounty on Fugaku Uchiha himself.

"And make it Kill on Sight. I have no need for him alive...."

0000

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