To War Part 1

AUTHOR'S NOTES; Goddamn, it's been a hot minute. Six months 💀 y'all, I don't even what's been happening, I think I've blacked out the last several months bc school has been handling my ass, NGL. Lmao.

OH, BTW! chapter 10 has some edits so go reread that if possible. I reader pointed out an error nd I deadass gaslit them until I reread the entire fic like a week later and realized they were right. 😂

Anyway, thank you so much you lovely people for being patient! As special thanks, this will be a double update!

There are officially 8 parts to this series, so if you enjoy reading this soul's journey through the cycle of reincarnation across the multiverse, maybe check them out? Though, all fics can be read independently too!

As always, thank you guys for showing your love for my work. I hope yall enjoy!

Discord!

https://discord.gg/XhqUDAnbsH

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"Didn't I tell you, Tsunade, that these little semen demons are my students and you can't have them?" Orochimaru says, voice deadly calm as he prods my wrapped hand with his own medical chakra, as if he didn't trust the treatment of the best medical ninja to grace the world. "Besides, you are clearly incapable of caring for runts since you managed to break her bones within two hours of having her."

It would have been a fair point if Orochimaru didn't perpetually risk our lives in training himself.

"Damnit, she broke her own bones!" Tsunade complains, voice dangerously close to a whine.

I snort, taking the ensuing bickering as a chance to escape to where Kushina and Minato are pouring over seals in my living room. The teens were insistent on making sure Kakashi and I have a stock of useful seals to use in an emergency when we leave for the war camp. 

"I can't believe you're going to the front lines before us," Minato mumbles, carefully applying the ink for another experimental attempt of our food preservation seal.

I shrug. "Mah, I'll be at camp, so it's not exactly the front lines. Even civilians have jobs at the camp, so I'll be fine."

"Well, at least you'll have seals and summons in case of emergencies!" Kushina says with cheer that rings false. The red head is smiling so wide, her eyes are squinted shut, but I can feel her hands tremble.

With a deep breath and a strengthening of the chakra flowing through me, I carefully approach the jinchuriki and wrap my arms around her in a tight hug. Even after several months of knowing Kushina, it could still be painful to be near her, the burning sun of the Kyubbi's chakra scathing on my senses, almost like my skin is being kissed by an unending inferno. Still, just like Minaro, Kushina has become a cherished companion and I smile into her neck, happy I finally get to hug her even as my veins throb and my lungs stutter.

Kushina freezes under my touch and I nuzzle her ruby strands, noting that she smells like ink, ocean storms, and citrus. Kushina abruptly bursts into tears, wailing happily even as she is very careful not to move in my hold, like she's worried it will cause me pain. "Why are you so sweet?! I don't want you to go to war! You're too precious! I wanna come, toooooo-"

I huff, petting her hair briefly and kissing her cheek before retreating back to Minato, panting slightly from the exertion of the proximity with the girl. "I'll be okay, Kushi-nee. We both will. In the worst case scenario, our summons will reverse summon us into their realm."

Kushina sniffles and grumbles but seems to get it together rather quickly. With a snarl, she promptly throws herself into seal making, growling about creating the biggest exploding tag in history, a comment I find simultaneously ominous and intriguing. 

I'm distracted by little hands on my back and I turn, grinning as I see Shisui. He blinks big, cat-like eyes at me, the only other person I knew besides myself and my mother with that rare Uchiha feature. "Hn?"

"…I'll miss you, Riri-hime."

"I'll miss you too, Shi-chan," I reply, squishing the other child close and rocking us both, my cute aggression getting the best of me as I smother my fellow toddler with kisses, his adorable giggles making me melt. I nuzzle his cheek against mine before using the seal on my thigh holster, unsealing and handing Shisui the plushies I got him, a black and white cat and a grey wolf, casually showing him the hidden compartment in them that I'd stashed some defensive items for him. "Here. You can hug them until Kashi and I come back. You gotta take care of these silly adults for us while we are gone."

Shisui beams like the sun, filling me with a sensation of overwhelming fondness. He kisses my cheek shyly and hurries over to show a cooing Minato and Kushina.

A gentle hand caressing my hair has me looking up with a smile of my own at my Akane-obachan, leaning into her loving touch before she joins her bouncing son and the teens. 

We say nothing to each other. We don't have to. We both know the bond between us.

I circle back to the two sannin perched on the enagawa, still bickering, and greet Sakumo and Kakashi as they arrive.

The poor Yondaime seems a bit frayed, world weary from the horrors of the war as it heats up and when he kneels, beckoning me over, I let him clutch Kakashi and I both close to his chest as he sighs deep and long. I pat his shoulder comfortingly but he simply grips us tighter. "…It's the best decision, but…"

"Tch. Otou-sama worries too much. Orochi-sensei is too strong for anything to get to us. And Akari will know if danger comes our way ahead of time," Kakashi states, arms crossed. As a genin, my friend had given up his scarves and traded them in for those iconic black masks connected to a top. However, his outfit is still different from canon. The sleeves and torso are overlain in chainmail up to the neck and the arm guards Minato and Kushina made us come nearly to his elbows, metal plating across his palms and knuckles. His black pants were actually traditional hakama barely noticeable with the excess fabric wrapped in compression bandages, though his shinobi sandals and weapons pouch are pretty much the same as canon. Still, there is one glaring difference.

He is wearing a black, grey, and blue traditional suikan with his clan crest on it, his wider sleeves concealing weapons and seals a plenty.

Part of me thinks it's because Sakumo is alive and his clan isn't disgraced. He was far from the only clan kid to lean towards traditional wear. But the other, less humble, part of me strongly suspects it's to match me, especially since Sakumo himself doesn't wear traditional clothes. 

My current Shinobi gear is nearly identical to Kakashi's from the black top, shinobi mesh chainmail, sandals, and arm guards. My pants were more of a legging material then Kakashi's, but we were pretty identical down to the weapons pouches. However, my top ended at my upper neck, not hiding my lower face, and a shortened, black, silver, and blue Uchiha kimono covered me to the knees, the obi filled with secret pockets and weapons. Additionally, I'd taken to wearing a painted cat mask over the upper part of my face, hidden seals preventing anyone from seeing Sharingan if I turned them on, courtesy of Kushina and Minato. It took an embarrassingly long time for me to realize we were marching down to the color scheme these days, and the realization had given me a mix of embarrassment and glee.

"I'll go with them as well."

The ensuing silence is thick and my head whips up.

"Tsunade-hime,…" Sakumo breathes, standing.

Tsunade huffs, tossing a pigtail over her shoulder as she stares her teammate down challengingly even as she addresses the Yondaime respectfully. "Hokage-sama, I'll head the medical unit at the camp and keep an eye on them."

"But, your hemophobia-"

"Tch," Tsunade dismisses. "I'll wear a blind fold or mask like Brat One and tell everyone I'm training my healing skills further. No one will question it."

Sakumo starts to grin and I can't help but mimic it. Even though Tsunade's hemophobia and 'retirement' is a bit of an open secret amongst the village elite, it was still dangerous info. But, this was a decent way for her to conceal it from the enemy while still participating in the war as enemy villages would expect of the Slug Princess. 

"Are you sure?"

Tsunade scoffs. "Hah? Of course! I can't train my newest student from inside the village!"

I let out a breathless, disbelieving laugh. I'd only agreed to learn from the Senju a few hours ago. And, I haven't actually passed her test yet, although it was pretty obvious that I would get it soon if I could already shatter trees with her Strength of a Hundred. Still, I hadn't expected her to acknowledge me like this. Surely she couldn't be so attached already?

"This isn't like Nawaki."

The temperature in the room drops until it feels like ice shards are scraping my insides, making my breath stutter. 

Orochimaru hadn't snapped the words. If anything, he had practically whispered them. There is no anger in his voice, but rather something more fragile and pained, dare I say vulnerable, than I've ever heard from the snake scientist.

Yeah… it's time to get the fuck out of here, I internally scream.

"…I fucking know," Tsunade growls, but it lacks any real hear and I can feel the liquid gathering in her eyes.

"…I know I didn't protect him-"

"NO! No! Don't you dare," Tsunade spits, ragged. Discreetly, I reach out with chakra strings and tug on my fellow frozen observers, beckoning them out. Emotional sanin were at least 100% more defensive and 200% more prone to violence, and that meant the rest of us best scalable. "Just… don't."

We begin our retreat, giving the old team mates privacy, slowly dimming our chakra and using every ninja trick in the book like we were mid mission in enemy territory. 

"Don't you blame me? Isn't that why-"

"You fucking moron! Is that why you thought I left?! You-"

Their voices trail off into inaudibility as the rest of us end up awkwardly hanging around my kitchen, sharing horrified looks with one another. An unidentifiable crash sounds from down the hallway, making me cringe and stare up at the ceiling in exasperation. "… Why do all the soul-bearing therapy sessions happen in my living room?"

Sakumo facepalms but Kushina just snorts. "Tsuna-nee would punt you into the sun if she heard that."

I shrug, sensing the shifts in the chakra laden air of the living room and smirk. "Nah, she likes my medical skills too much. Besides, your cousin is too busy snotting on Oro-sensei."

Akane-obachan hums as she begins to make some tea, another crash and the sound of shattering heard in the distance. "I'm glad they are working things out. It will be reassuring to be on the frontline with the sannin united once more." I shoot her a confused look and she pats my head again. "I'll be deploying to the same camp with you two and Orochimaru-sama as part of the sensor unit under his command."

"Wha- you? I didn't realize you were an active kunoichi, Oba-chan. What about Shisui?" I blurt, struggling to imagine my gentle pseudo-aunt at war.

Akane smiles, grim and firm, silk coated steel. "He will be staying with your parents."

"Just Mikoto, actually. I'll be deploying not long after you to Kumo's front lines," my father interrupts, voice blank as he and my mother arrive, chakra sharp and honed like arrows in a way that makes it feel almost unfamiliar to me. "The matriarch will be acting clan head if she is in-village while I'm not, and will be in charge of the care of all children with parents at war. A portion of the clan duties will be delegated to the clan elders to deal with, as is our clan's war time protocol."

"Not that I'll be in the village for long either, but usually, Konoha likes to keep either the clan leaders, their spouses, or their mature heirs in the village at any given time so that there is always to lead the clans," Mama-sama adds, settling a hand on my head, brushing my hair away from my mask.

I purse my lips, having known it was coming, but the idea of my parents off to war, out of my reach where I can warn them of incoming tragedies, makes my skin crawl.

My mother, seemingly reading my mind, nonchalantly sweeps her long hair over her shoulder, lips curling into a lethal, spine chilling smirk, abruptly revealing a part of her I've never seen before, the woman who earned the nickname of Princess of Bloody Blades and a hell of a bounty in the Bingo Books. "No need to worry dear. Your father and I are strong. We've been through one war already. This one will not make us falter."

I nod sharply even as my teeth grit. Kakashi promptly steals my attention by asking a very innocent question. "Ne, Akane-obachan, where is Shisui's dad?"

"Kakashi!" I hiss, elbowing him. "You can't just ask things like that!"

As smart as my friend was, a kid was a kid and saying brutal shit is kind of a given, especially when that kid was a genius still learning social etiquette. Akane, thankfully, just smiles. "Itsuki is on a long term mission due to war. He will be back in the village next month, I hope."

I narrow my eyes. If he was on a long-term mission, one that didn't even allow him to come home for the last two years to see his child, it's likely that he was undercover, meaning he was high up in ANBU. Either that, or he was a deadbeat dad, but I guess I'd find out soon. "Hn. So I assume more clan heads and heirs are being deployed?"

Sakumo nods, taking a cup of tea offered by my aunt as he leans on a counter, and I try not to laugh at the sight of all of us hiding from the weepy sanin in the damn kitchen, including the owners of the house and the hokage himself. "Indeed. You lot are going to the Iwa border, which is actually on the edge of Ame since currently, Hanzo the Salamander is allowing passage while he stays neutral as long as his village is left alone. Sandaime-sama is going to the Kumo border in case the Jinchurki appears there. The Konoha Elders are in Suna along with the Ino-Shika-Cho clan heads, hopefully garnering an alliance since Suna hasn't picked a side yet-" Ha, good luck pulling something shady with those clan heads watching you, Danzo!- "The Aburame, Inuzukas, and Hyuga Clan heads are on the Kiri border in case they pick a side since they can best deal with their mist techniques while also being close enough to provide reinforcements to the Kumo border, and the other various other clan heads and clan heirs are scattered all about."

"What do we expect from Ame?"

"They'll wait for Suna before deciding which side to join since they are between us, Suna, and Kumo. They've always been opportunistic like that, as has Kiri," Sakumo says with distaste. "But let's be honest, Suna holds a grudge against me for the second war, so whether they'll ally with us is dependent on if their pride wins against their fear of me, and only the smaller villages have sided with Konoha so far because we are seen as more peaceful then the other big nations."

I grimace. Konoha was at a major disadvantage at the moment. In fact, I'm starting to question how the hell Konoha even managed to come out on top in Cannon. From what I could tell, Suna had allied with Konoha in the third war, but I am unsure if they'll actually to do so again, considering the White Fang was not only alive, but now Hokage. There was also the fact that geographically, we were right in the middle of all the major shinobi nations, and should they all team up, we'd be facing enemy attacks from every side.

Shit. The butterfly effect is coming straight for my ass and I have no idea what is coming next. Did saving Sakumo… doom Konoha?

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"Be safe, my star," Father murmurs into my wild hair, strewn with silver strands and strung with braids, colorful glass beads, and bells, all used for my genjutsu.

"We love you, Akari-Chan," Mama-sama replies, her lips pressed to my temple as my father holds me between them just a bit too tight.

"I love you, too, Mama-sama, Papa-sama," I say with a smile, kissing their cheeks goodbye. "I will see you soon."

It was somewhat a lie. It would likely be a few months at least before I saw them again, but it was a reminder that I would return, one they needed. 

My father sets me down, handing me an ornate tanto while mother offers me an Uchiwa fan, both glimmering in navy, scarlett, silver, and black, symbolic of the clan heir and traditional gifts when they go to war. I bow lowly in thanks to my parents, before turning, head held high in the presence of my eagle eyed clan. 

With sure steps, I climb the dais in the center of the clan compound's courtyard, cool wind whipping my hair about. I kneel, pressing my head to the wooden floor of the open air shrine, incense floating around me as I pray before golden statues of the Kami of this realm, Amaterasu's statue a bit bigger than the rest as the patron deity of our clan. Then I turn, and drop a beautiful square of silk into the bonfire on my right as well as a cup of sake in the one to the left, flames only blazing higher. I smile as I feel a spike of divine energy, the flames turning black for a moment. I almost think I imagined it if not for the shocked gasps around me. I grin, offering another bow to the statues, asking them to watch over me as I go to war.

Slowly, the music begins to play, low and slow before it begins to climb. I rise, in full shinobi wear rather then the garb of a priestess, letting the taiko drums, koto, yokobue, and chochigane played by my clansmen guide my steps, the now unsheathed tanto in one hand and uchiwa with suzu bells hanging off its handle in the other. With a soft exhale I fall into a fast paced Kagura dance, letting my chakra strings swirl around me like whips of fire as my clan watches, their voices flowing up around me in perfect symphony as I spin and slash and dart.

My clan sings like rumbling thunder and song birds in flight, the rising of the sun offset by the humming of the star filled sky. Here and now, my clan's hearts beat in time with slashes of my blade and the striking of the drums, their fierce pride and determination echoing around me as I spin and spin letting the music carry me away for the moment.

When the ritual ends, silence rings out as I kneel and bow once more to the shrine, shaking the suzu on the uchiwa a final time.

Then, careful to not turn back to look at my family or clan as the ritual dictates, symbolizing the heir's resolve as they go to war for the honor and safety of the clan, I make my way to Orochimaru and Kakashi who stand waiting at the edge of the courtyard. The snake man eyes me for half a moment, seemingly checking over my form before he snatches Kakashi and I up. Having already said a very tearful and sappy goodbye to Sakumo, we soon find ourselves before the village gate where we will be leaving with the rest of the battalion. Sensing a familiar presence, I blink up as an aura shunshins into place next to me.

"Ryōsuke-Ojiisama?" I wonder as my mother's stepdad and my only living grandparent appears. "What are you doing here?"

I had felt my grandfather at the ceremony earlier, although I hadn't gotten to speak to him with my clan swarming, (their appreciation of me much improved after I threatened to strangle them all), and while I am very happy to see him, I am also a little confused.

"I am also being deployed, child. As your sensei's deputy, in fact," Ryōsuke-Ojiisama states, smirking. 

Ah, I think, a dawning realization hitting me. Of course one of the clan's only Mangekyōu users wouldn't sit out of the war. Ryōsuke-Ojiisama isn't even that old not to mention how fucking OP he is with his goddamn Mangekyōu's Amenominakanushi.

"…Cool," I reply mildly.

Tsunade stomps over, still pissed off from this morning when I won our bet by punching a tree into wood chips with only bruises to show for it. She wasn't mad I had succeeded. No, she had expected that. She was pissed because Oreo-sensei clowned on her by reminding her how long it took her to master that technique herself. She glares even as she snatches me up by the scruff, hands me a thick medical book, and throws me over her shoulder. "Come!"

I was getting real sick of being treated like a toddler's favorite plushie.

"Why bother say anything if you're just going to make me do it anyway?" I ask aloud as she settles into position behind our snake man commander, my amused grandfather, flanking the other side with Kakashi between them. From over her shoulder, I examine the battalion of over 1000 ninja with interest, familiarizing myself with all the chakra signatures.

With a sharp pulse of chakra, we take flight into the trees, bounding from branch to branch, and I wave, catching sight of Akane-obachan in the middle of the formation. I tilt my head up, feeling the warmth of early spring sunshine, even through the brisk sharpness of the end of winter winds. With a sigh, I wiggle to get comfortable and brace the medical textbook Tsunade gave me on her back, hiding myself behind the pages, not really caring what the Konoha troops who know of my blindness think I'm doing.

The trip to the war camp goes relatively smoothly for the first few days. If I wasn't with Orochimaru or Tsunade, I was with Akane-obachan or Ryōsuke-Ojiisama who made sure to stick close to me. There were other Uchiha lingering around the fringes of my space, bowing low and sharing treats whenever I passed, but they seemed hesitant to approach considering the rank and reputation of my current guardians.

We were two days away from the camp when it happened. I perk up, resting my head on Ryōsuke-Ojiisama's shoulder. "Hn?"

"Child?" My grandfather asks.

"…Let's go see sensei." I state, beckoning my aunt to fall into step with us. Ojiisama narrows his eyes, but breaks formation to catch up to the sanin, Kakashi running alongside them at the moment. "Sensei!"

"What is it, Brat? Need more jutsu scrolls?" the sannin inquires, already reaching for his pouch.

I shake my head. "Incoming at 2 o'clock. 20 elite jounin, I think, primarily rock natured. They are trying to be stealthy," I note calmly.

The sannin and Ojiisama don't visibly tense, but I can still feel the coiling of their chakra and how my grandfather tightens his grip before smoothly lifting Kakashi up to perch on his back with me, making the genin yelp at the fast movement. Akane-obachan has the most visible reaction, audibly hissing and stiffening up, fingers flying through hand seals for a chakra sensing jutsu.

There were a few types of sensors. All ninja developed various levels of chakra sensitivity over time, some of which learned to expand that range. Most true sensors, however, were born, like Akane-obachan and Minato-nii. These were natural sensors, and while their range also develops over time, they can temporarily boost it with jutsu like my aunt is currently doing. I'm pretty sure I'm in a separate category with Tobirama Senju, though, able to sense what I think is natural chakra since it's the only way I can explain my ability to feel emotions.

"….I don't feel anything. How far out are they?" my aunt asks,deadly serious and slightly unnerving because I'm unused to such sharpness from her.

"…Hn. 10 kilometers?" I say, unsure, earning me incredulous looks. "What?"

Ryōsuke-Ojiisama barks out a laugh, seemingly very entertained. "Akane-Chan?"

My aunt lets out a little giggle. "My range is 3 kilometers. Even less for chakra signature analysis. And I lead the sensor unit for this battalion." 

"…Ah," I note, slightly embarrassed. 

Orochimaru smirks a little signaling one of the high ranking Jōnin that had been lingering nearby. "Bring me Inori Yamanaka and Hideyoshi Hyuuga."

Soon enough, two ninja's we shunshining over to our little group, falling into step.

"Orochimaru-taisho?" The Hyuuga intones gruffly albeit respectfully, an old man a part of the branch family, the seal I could feel on his forehead indication enough.

"How far can your eyes scout ahead?" The sanin asks, tone startling me a bit. I hadn't noticed how used to his subtle warmth I'd gotten until it was gone. 

"4 kilometers, Taisho," the Hyuuga reports chin tilted almost defiantly. 

"And you, girl?"

The Yamanaka, a young lady with silken blonde hair, flinches a bit under the intense slitted stare, but stammers out, "3 kilometers, Commander. I can't sense minds beyond that."

Orochimaru merely sniffs imperiously, but after a few more leaps forward, the tall forests of Konoha long since having turned into endless prairie as we got closer to the front lines and Ame, Orochimaru takes me from my grandfather, his lips curling at the corners as ge tucks me against his side almost gently for once. "It seems we'll be ambushed soon. Keep your senses peeled to two o'clock,"

I frown. "But it's only 20 elite Jōnin? Or at least, their chakra reserves seem close to that of some of the elite Jōnin I'm familiar with, though they don't feel as strong as Ojiisama or the sannin. We're 1000 strong! There is no way they'd be dumb enough to ambush us, right?"

Orochimaru scoffs and flicks my nose sharply on another upwards bound. "You have no sense of power scalding do you, brat?"

 "I do, too! Grandfather is an elite Jōnin! There are 6 others with similar chakra pools here. You and Tsunade-sensei are above that level. That's nine and the rest of the battalion, and I'm sure you could take on more then one even if Tsunade-hime wasn't planning to fight! Ten of them would be against the entire rest of the force! It would be suicidal to ambush us with odds like that!" I scowl, offended. Sure, I could only judge the rank of someone based on their chakra pool size and their control, but this method is mostly accurate since advanced techniques require more chakra and control. There are always exceptions, like Maito Dai who had a tiny chakra pool and shit control, but still.

Tsunade tsks. "No, Orochimaru is right, you have a complete misunderstanding of how shinobi rankings work. Generally speaking, three genin could take on a chunin."

I frown. "Okay? So, three chunin to a Jōnin?."

"Three chunin to a tokubetsu Jōnin," Ojiisama corrects.

I furrow my brow. "Wait, are you saying three toko-jo's for one Jōnin?"

Tsunade shrugs. "Eh, depends. It gets a little sticky at this point. Most ANBU are toku-jōs or Jōnin. But how many Jōnin to an elite Jōnin?"

I shrug. "Three, then? Still, our numbers are way better-"

"Wrong," Tsunade states simply. 'It's probably closer to ten on average."

My jaw drops. "Wait, what?"

Kakashi grunts, annoyed, reaching over to fearlessly tug on Orochimaru's hair to get his attention. "That doesn't make sense!"

"There is a large skill jump after Jōnin, one we don't really have a ranking system for," Akane-obachan's soft voice intercedes, even as she holds her hands in the seal of the ram as she keeps pace with us, her gaze fixed outward and her two tomoe sharingan, spinning dangerously. "Shinobi that make it to that level are rare, 15 out of a 1000 ninja perhaps, and their skills tend to be specialized and lethal, most of which are characterized by the peak of their kekkei-genkai or clan techniques, or a jutsu they created themselves. Once a ninja reaches that rank, they become exponentially more dangerous."

I tighten my grip on my first sensei. "So, even if all our elites were all able to take on 1, or even two of them,…."

In Shinobi battles, where speed and the element of surprise determines the outcome most of the time, everyone knows one important fact; a single instant could turn the tide of any battle.

"An ambush would have decimated our forces," Orochimaru finishes, lips curling into a pretty smile. Somehow the expression oozed rage and malice. "I could eventually take on 20 elites, probably, but we'd lose at least a quarter of our forces in the meantime. Good job, reporting in, Crotch Goblin. Now we can ambush them back."

"…What?!"

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AN; 😈 how do we feel? See y'all soon for that double update!