Chapter 148: Uchiha and Asahi (2)

***

Madara heard that a group of people were wandering around the world, starving, being attacked by other ninja from other families, but they still stood their ground and continued on the pacifist side.

This annoyed Madara, because the name of the Uchiha clan was being tarnished by traitors. And what do you do with traitors in a Shinobi World of 80 years ago? The answer is crystal clear, they were killed.

***

"I set off on a quick search that only lasted a few days. I found them, all of them..." Madara's Sharingan spun within his pupil.

***

Uchiha Toru, his sister, all the traitors, they were all there. They were completely defenseless, they barely had any weapons to defend themselves. So Madara tried to take advantage of this and introduced himself politely, then wielded his old weapon.

However...

***

"Let me tell you something I'm more than sure of" He adjusted his mask. "Human beings are always going to fear the unknown and I am no exception. I still remember it as clear as day..."

***

Madara could not move, not even the shinobi accompanying him could. They all looked terrified at this situation.

Among the weak traitors, there walked a man who wore quite strange clothes. That man was almost an old man and Madara knew it right away just by looking at him.

His body trembled with fear for the first time in his life. He sensed danger and imminent death.

***

"I... Uchiha Madara, I knew it at that moment... that man... he didn't belong to this world" He touched his head painfully, as if remembering all that will cause him suffering.

***

He still vividly remembered that man's words.

"You will leave these people alone, because they have caused you no harm. The lust for peace goes hand in hand with the lust for power, he could assure you of that. So, take your weapons, your bloodlust and get out of here."

After those words, Madara regained mobility in his body, but still he could not move from where he was because of the shock of the moment.

***

"I still don't understand where this is leading us. You're just talking about a stranger and traitors. It is, to some extent, boring" Toru said leaning his back against the wall.

In response this, Madara shook his head. "This story is just beginning."

On the other hand, Sasuke was the same as Toru, as he didn't understand the direction of this story and if it has anything to do with Itachi.

Still, Madara continued.

***

He ran away with his tail between his legs after that. The unknown had shown itself in front of him, someone strange he had never seen before and even his presence was different from anyone he had ever met.

Fear was against him, but his great pride was even stronger.

Now Madara was ready to destroy the traitors, so he prepared himself.

A few months passed after the preparations, but when he met those traitors again, he realized that they had weapons. Although this was not enough for them to defend themselves considering that they are the weak ones of the Uchiha clan.

Amazingly, that strange man was not there, instead, Uchiha Toru showed up with a fierce look on his face.

"You come for revenge?"

Madara shook his head as he heard Uchiha Toru speak. "Revenge is such an ugly word. Let's call it a settling of scores."

Witnessing the impending fight, Uchiha Toru's sister, Uchiha Sashiori, who by this time had a bit of a big belly from her pregnancy, evacuated everyone and looked at her brother worriedly.

Uchiha Toru looked at her and smiled.

"We want freedom, we crave peace. That is an ideal you will not accept, Madara-sama..."

"You are correct."

"I see. Sashiori... run away, as far away as you can. Take care of our family, take care of my little nephew who is growing in your belly, I know you can..." He clenched his fists and returned his gaze to Madara.

At the same time Sashiori didn't want to leave, but she had no choice.

Now, in that place, in the middle of the night, Madara made a proposal when he saw Toru's worth.

If Toru could endure one hour in combat without dying, Madara would leave the traitors alone for a long time until his patience ran out. Toru accepted and then he closed his eyes....

"These eyes are the ones that will begin and end an era..." Toru unsheathed his katana gracefully. "The mystical thing about this, is that death is present... Mangekyo Shigan!"

***

"He had those same eyes you have, Toru. He had his own Sharingan. In fact, while we were fighting, he called it Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. Then he abbreviated it and ended up calling it Mangekyo Shigan."

Toru folded his arms. A piece appeared and connected in this complicated puzzle. "So he had the Shigan, huh..."

Sasuke now also understood why Toru's eyes were different from the eyes of the other Uchiha.

***

That night, a long battle began. A battle that lasted for more than seven hours straight.

In the end, Uchiha Toru ended up completely wounded, without one of his arms, with one of his eyes blown out, but he had managed to put Madara against the wall.

Madara gave his respect to this traitor. And at that moment, the sun began to rise....

Both Uchiha looked at this and Toru smiled. He felt like laughing at the corny phrase he came up with. "No matter all the hardships and suffering my heart has endured, it seems that at the end of it all, I can see the Rising Sun with a smile..."

After that, that boy, only 18 years old, died from the severe injuries he had. Madara saw it, this was not a death, it was the birth of something greater.

***

"The child that was growing in the womb of Sashiori, Toru's sister, is your direct ancestor, Asahi Toru. It was that woman who, watching her older brother die in front of her eyes, witnessing the dawn... gave him the name and the beginning of a new clan."

The Asahi clan was born at that moment.

Asahi, directly means Rising Sun, but it can also mean Sunrise.

"That is the origin story of the Asahi clan. A clan that was born out of the desire for peace and happiness. Ironically there is only one descendant of that clan left and it is you... the descendant of that otherworldly person."

Even though he now understood many things, Toru also had even more questions to ask. Although Madara didn't seem to know any more than that.

The story continues with a lot of misunderstandings between the Uchiha and the Shinobi World in general. Basically, everyone ended up being discriminated against by Konohagakure and the Fire Country.

From here on out, Toru already knew the story, he saw it in Itachi's memories. But Sasuke refused again and again to understand.

"My patience ran out. Besides, I already know that part of the story. If you want to keep telling all that to Sasuke, my presence is no longer important" Even in the bottom of his heart, he didn't want to remember all of Itachi's suffering again.

Now that older brother had died, and somehow... there was something strange about all this....

-Outside the Lair-

Toru walked out relaxed, but his eyes widened slightly when he found three people waiting patiently outside.

'They must be Sasuke's companions' He continued walking and passed by them without paying more attention to them than necessary, but the words of the thin and pale guy stopped him.

"Hey, what's going on in there, is Sasuke still alive?" Suigetsu approached Toru, still carrying the heavy sword of the Zabuza Demon and tried to see his face.

In response to this, Toru sighed and sat down on a stone nearby. Karin watched him out of curiosity and Juugo did the same.

"Hey, aren't you going to answer?"

"Uchiha Sasuke is still alive. It's just that right now he's encountering the truth behind everything."

"Ha~? Really? What complicated things, it's so boring" The muscles in his right arm were pleased and he held Zabuza's sword while looking at Toru with a smile. "So, who are you? You seem to know Sasuke."

"I have no right to answer that question."

"Hey, hey. I'm just asking you this in a nice way, do you want me to cut your head off?"

Karin opened her eyes after Suigetsu said that, as she saw the large amount of chakra hidden in the body of that boy who was hiding his face under a hat. For a moment, her body trembled, because there was something else hiding inside Toru. She couldn't see it, but she could feel it. It was a sense of extreme danger that made her want to run away.

"Hey, you idiot. I don't recommend you try to pick a fight with him. He'll kill you..." said Karin trying not to think about it.

But Suigetsu didn't seem to understand. However, Sasuke's sudden appearance stopped everything.

Toru got up from the rock and walked next to Sasuke.

This silence was awkward for everyone, as a second later the masked man came out accompanying them.

"Maybe, if you had decided to do a little research before you set out on the path of revenge, just maybe, things would be different" Toru took off his hat and threw it on the ground.

In response, Sasuke just kept silent and they walked to the shore of the beach. There, Sasuke climbed over a large rock to watch the sun on the horizon.

Toru knew at that moment.

Together...

They remembered the past, they remembered Itachi and then....

...

Drip...

...

Drip...

...

Drip...

...

Sasuke's tears fell on the rock. Toru looked at him and then looked at the sun.

Sasuke's three companions only remained silent in the meantime.

"Our group will no longer be known as Hebi. From now on, we will be called Taka" Sasuke felt a slight burning pass from his brain to his eyes. "Taka only has one goal..."

Toru expected some different words from Sasuke, but was disappointed to hear it.

"The complete and utter destruction of Konoha" In his eyes, with small tears of blood spilling out, the Mangekyo Sharingan showed itself.

Hearing this, Toru sighed and started to walk away from there.

'You didn't understand anything Itachi meant to convey to you with his actions...' he clasped his hands together with an expressionless face and then... "If you harm them, Sasuke, I will destroy you. Release" His body disappeared enveloped in a cloud of smoke.

-Amegakure-

Toru looked at Konan and stopped calling her with honorifics. It had been two years since they had known each other and, since Toru doesn't know how to socialize properly, he thought this would be more comfortable for Konan.

"Konan..." He was about to say something, but immediately his eyes widened in shock. Due to the sheer amount of information that invaded his head, he almost fainted, but he stood his ground.

At the same time, Konan looked at him and wondered what was wrong with Toru. However, the boy just shook his head and got up from the ground. He looked at the rain and Konan did the same, still curious about what Toru was going to tell him.

"Konan..." Toru's gaze softened. "We killed the one who was your sensei, how do you feel about that?" Remembering that Sasuke had killed Itachi, that sudden question came up.

At the same time, Konan was silent for a few seconds before answering. "What am I supposed to feel? Absolutely nothing. Jiraiya-sensei is already a stranger to both me and Nagato. So, my answer to your question is that I felt nothing neither when I saw him again nor when he died."

Toru looked at the lake and realized that Konan was looking at that place before. Also, he could hear a shaky breathing... "You lie..." he said.

Konan frowned and looked at Toru, as if waiting for an explanation.

"Your breathing is shaking... your hands are shaking, your eyes are slightly moist..."

Konan's eyes widened in disbelief at what she was hearing. Toru looked at her with that expressionless face and remembered everything he experienced in this last week.

"If you want to cry, do it. If you want to scream, do it. Curse this world that has given you such a miserable life" As Toru said this, he relaxedly walked over to the door. "Maybe that will make you feel better. I assure you, it has worked for me too..."

After that, Toru walked out of the great hall and Konan stood looking at the door. Then she looked at the rain, she could hear the drops falling precipitously and then a fleeting memory invaded her mind and heart.

That albino-haired man, training together with those three children. They were laughing, crying, feeling miserable and proud at the same time.

They became strong, they became cold. The children became adults, but only two of them ascended further. Every memory with Jiraiya was good, because he acted like a father even though these children were only strangers to him.

Drip...

...

Drip...

....

Drip...

Konan put her hand on her chest and tried to hold back her crying, but it was impossible. All the good memories she had together with her friends and her teacher were hurting her.

Without further ado, she fell to the ground on her knees. With tears streaming down her face, she called out her teacher's name. "Jiraiya-sensei... forgive me..."

***

On the other side of the door, Toru stood staring at the empty hallway. In a single second, the place in his mind changed. There were some of the Akatsuki members there. Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara, Sasori and Itachi.

Hidan as usual was looking for a fight with everyone and Kakuzu was stopping him by beating him up. Deidara was showing a small clay spider to Sasori and Itachi approached Toru and showed him a kunai with Sasuke's name written on the metal.

Itachi smiled. Toru's eyes widened, because suddenly everything seemed so bright. They... were they his friends?

As if his body was weak, he leaned his back against the wall and slowly fell to the ground.

The laughter of a child, a teenager and a woman echoed in his head. Everything changed, now being in that old Japanese style house. There was Kyoko, the mother of Toru, Itachi and Sasuke.

His mother and Itachi held out their hands to him, as if they were telling him to accompany them and then....

Empty...

...

The whole place was empty. That hallway, cold, lonely and silent.

Drip...

All those memories again showed him that heartbreaking feeling in his heart.

Drip...

He touched his chest in pain, as if he was really suffering.

Drip...

Although his heart was screaming in suffering and tears began to fall down Toru's cheeks, he just stared at the ceiling with an expressionless face.

His face could no longer show it, but his tears indicated that, in reality, this boy was suffering the loss of his friends, of someone who in the past was like an older brother, the loss of his mother and the reunion with those people Toru thought he had forgotten.

Drip...

Toru closed his eyes, and then, with tears streaming down his cheeks, he got up from the floor and walked out of the building.

To be continued...

________________

Author's note: Well, they still had to reach 300 stones of power, but I got excited and decided to publish the chapter before the goal of stones. Of course, for the next chapter (in fact, it will be two chapters because of something you will understand when you read them) it will be 450 power stones.