Finally pulling back, Hidetada motioned for her to follow as they made their way out of the Forest of Death. Mikoto quickly fell in step beside him, her pace matching his long, steady strides.
Her cheeks still felt sore from all his abuse.
Whistling as the cool wind rushed past them, rustling the high canopy of the ancient trees, Hidetada suddenly stopped and bent down. He picked up a small object from the forest floor, his fingers nimble. "I cannot train you all twenty four hours of the day, so most of the work you will have to do alone," he said, standing up straight again. In his hand, he held a single, bright green leaf, vibrant and fresh against his skin.
Rotating it slowly, he examined its intricate venation before holding it out toward the Uchiha girl who was standing next to him.
She stared at it confusedly for a long moment, before taking it into her hands with a hint of hesitation. Why was he giving her a leaf? Did this gesture mean something specific in the customs of the Senju Clan?
"Hold it between your palms and try to channel Fire Nature chakra through it all hours of the day. Whenever you possibly can, just do it."
Mikoto blinked, realizing that no, it was not a secret greeting between Senju. How disappointing; she had actually been hoping that this was some secret custom among them.
Hidetada continued on his way, and she followed closely behind him. Her eyes narrowed in deep focus as she immediately tried to channel Fire Nature chakra through the delicate leaf. Removing her top palm to check her progress, Mikoto stared at the leaf resting on her skin. Her face fell when she realized there was no difference on it at all.
"It will probably take you months just to do that, unless you could use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but that is too extensive," Hidetada noted. His feet crunched the dry leaves below his geta as he took steady, purposeful strides. Mikoto perked up at the thought of completing the exercise faster before realizing that she did not even know what a Shadow Clone was. "What is that Jutsu?"
She asked him with a curious tilt of her head, wondering how a technique could possibly fasten the process of learning. Hidetada side-eyed her before replying to her question. "Right, I forgot you probably would not know that. It is a Jutsu created by my grand uncle, that is Tobirama Senju, that allowed him to create clones that could send their memory back to the user when they were eliminated. Pretty neat, right? Though I cannot teach it to you. Just sheer chakra cost for creating even one single clone would kill you as you are right now."
With her palm back on top of her leaf, Mikoto turned her attention back to making the plant matter burst into flames, nodding at his explanation. While it would have been better to be able to utilize that Jutsu, it was probably for the best if she avoided anything that dangerous.
"How long did it take you to get this step down?" she asked, sending him a curious glance as they navigated the thickening roots of the forest.
Hidetada was broken out of his thoughts at her question, and he smirked at her. "It only took me one day," he said. Her eyes widened in sheer disbelief as he continued, "To get all five of them done."
"How..." Mikoto spluttered before shaking her head at the thought. He, on the other hand, could only snort at her reply. It mostly had to do with his massive chakra reserves that had allowed him to create dozens of clones to master the transformation, but also due to the unique outsider's perspective that he possessed. Most people in this world would not have been able to figure out the underlying science behind it, but being someone from the twenty first century had its benefits, he supposed.
A shrug along with a smirk was all that he could give her because he doubted she would actually understand any of the complex workings behind it, causing Mikoto to huff and turn her attention back to the task at hand.
The sunlight falling through the gaps between the leaves lessened as the afternoon progressed. The warm air of the day transformed into the crisp, cooling breeze of evening by the time they stepped outside the perimeter of the Forest of Death.
Throwing the Uchiha a glance, who was currently poking her tongue out in concentration as she attempted to burn the leaf with all her will, he decided to give her some more pieces of advice as he motioned for her to follow him. "There is not much I can do to train your reflexes except for sparring on a daily basis. On that front, the best advice I can give you is to start paying attention to your surroundings at all times from now on. Be prepared to jump or move at a moment's notice, even while you are eating food or sleeping. That sense of vigilance will get drilled into you as the months pass by, which may prove to be useful when you are on the battlefield or locked in a fight with another shinobi."
Hidetada saw that she was paying close attention to his words and continued. "At the end of the day, in most ninja battles, it is a split second twitch that ultimately decides the outcome of the fight."
And that was the absolute truth of it. Most battles in this world barely even lasted a full minute—and even that was highballing the duration—the fight would be over before you knew it, as an ambush would kill you before you even noticed the threat. That was the ultimate truth of the shinobi. This of course however, excluded the bouts between Kage level shinobi or higher. Those individuals could keep fighting for hours before one of them either died or retreated. Yet for the majority of the ninja, a fight lasting that long was simply impossible.
"Then there is your chakra pool as well. For that, you will need to eat enough good, nutritious food every day to provide your body with the necessary energy along with emptying it whenever it fills up again. Though the progress will start to slow down as you reach your genetic limit and try to go past it." That was another reason why the Uzumaki and Senju were built differently.
While in theory, you could continue training your chakra forever, the results will start to slow down according to your genetics as you hit the limit, unless you were a complete anomaly. But these two clans were simply built differently when it came to the sheer size of the chakra pool.
Hidetada finally stopped walking and so did Mikoto, who had been following him and paying close attention to everything that he had just said until now.
In front of him stood the dango shop, a humble and inviting structure that seemed to hold the waning sunlight within its very timber. The building was a study in rustic charm, its upper stories crafted from interlocking blocks of pale stone and weathered wood that glowed with a soft, honeyed amber under the twilight sky.
Sloping roofs of deep forest-green tiles overhung the windows like heavy eyelids, protective and sturdy. A trio of oversized pink spheres, fashioned to resemble the sweet dumplings themselves, sat proudly above the entrance, bearing the shop's name. The evening rays lanced between the taller buildings of the village, casting long, golden fingers of light across the cobblestones and illuminating the motes of dust that danced in the air.
Stepping inside, Hidetada was greeted by the quiet silence that had started to accompany these establishments ever since the war started.
The air within was thick and sweet, smelling of toasted rice, caramelized sugar, and the faint, earthy fragrance of brewing sencha. The interior was lined with polished dark wood, and the floorboards gave a soft, familiar creak beneath his feet. Rows of low wooden benches were tucked neatly against the walls, their surfaces worn smooth by years of patrons seeking a moment of respite. A few traditional lanterns hung from the low-beamed ceiling, casting a warm, flickering glow that battled back the encroaching shadows of the evening.
With a turn of his head, he looked at the old woman sitting at the counter of the shop, looking at him expectingly. She was the owner of the place, her face contained a map of fine lines earned through a long lifetime. Smiling at her, he moved towards the service area, leaning on the counter as he spoke, "Good evening grandma, we'd like to have some mitarashi dango, two each for both of us."
The old woman nodded, turning back and disappearing into another room to bring the prepare the food. The room was enclosed in a peaceful silence as both he and Mikoto waited patiently before it was broken by the sound of the Uchiha speaking. "I did not bring any money–"
Her sentence was interrupted by Hidetada snorting. He shook his head at her words before smirking at her. "Bah, do not worry about money whenever you are near me. It is the least I can do."
Mikoto paused at his words before nodding hesitantly. It still did not feel entirely right, but if he insisted, then there was nothing that she could do. Seeing her expression, Hidetada instead asked her, "Do you like mitarashi dango?"
The sound of the grandmother placing the skewers on a charcoal brazier could be heard from behind the closed door. The gentle hiss of the rice cakes hitting the heat and getting charred reverberated through the air, filling the shop with a savory aroma.
Mikoto's dark eyes lit up at his question, and she answered him excitedly. "Yeah! They are my favorite! I guess we have a lot more in common than I previously assumed." She flashed him a quick, genuine smile.
A glint appeared in Hidetada's eyes that remained unseen from her gaze as he turned his head to the opposite side, resisting the urge to curl his lips.
"Indeed, what a pleasant coincidence, right?"
Mikoto felt that his voice had a hidden undercurrent that she could not exactly identify.
His face fell out of the shadow as he turned towards her again, a gentle smile on his face. The smile transformed into a mischievous one as he raised his arms up to ruffle her hair. The Uchiha stepped back from his touch with a low growl, using her arms to quickly fix the mess that he had caused.
Meanwhile, Hidetada raised an eyebrow at her. So it was alright if he pinched her cheeks harshly, but the moment he touched her hair, it became a problem?
What kind of logic was that?
Soon the sound of the door opening made him turn his honey colored eyes away from her to look at the old woman. She was carrying their dango on two small bamboo plates. The dango looked absolutely mouth watering, each sphere perfectly round and white, coated in a thick, translucent amber glaze that shimmered under the lantern light. Small, dark charred spots from the charcoal grill dotted the surface.
Without much fanfare, the Senju smiled at her, removed his wallet, and placed a crisp one thousand ryo note on the counter.
Before the woman could react, he thanked her and took both of their plates in his hands.
Quickly, he motioned for Mikoto to follow him as they went outside the shop.
Outside, the street had transformed under the evening light. The setting sun had dipped low, painting the sky in deep violets and burning oranges. The concrete path was bathed in a warm, golden glow, and the few villagers still bustling about appeared as long, dark silhouettes against the radiant horizon. Shadows stretched lazily across the wooden storefronts, and the air was cold and silent.
Turning toward the Uchiha girl, he handed her the treat. He picked up one of the skewers from his own plate and raised it toward his mouth to take a bite. The flavor immediately exploded in his mouth, a perfect combination of the sweet, salty soy glaze and the soft, chewy texture of the toasted rice and the hint of char from the grill provided a deep, earthy undertone.
Mikoto put the leaf in her pocket and picked up one of her own skewers. She took a bite and couldn't help but hum contentedly as the flavor burst in her mouth.
Dango really was the best food of all time.
So they continued walking in a comfortable silence, each of them enjoying their own treat. Soon they both had finished. Hidetada burnt his bamboo plate and its wrappings with a quick transfer of Fire Nature chakra, causing the minute particles to flow away with a gust of wind. Mikoto, meanwhile, threw her own plate into one of the available trash bins, envying his ability to do that; it was simply too useful and cool.
Looking at his figure, the Uchiha girl thought for a few seconds before speaking up.
"Hidetada, I have been thinking about this for the past few days, ever since you gave that speech to me in the Forest of Death," she began, her dark eyes locking onto his with a newfound intensity. She continued with a voice that was uncharacteristically steely. "I turned it over in my mind for a long time and I finally realized that you were correct. The world we live in... it needs fixing."
She paused, mulling over her next words before returning back to reality.
"And... you are the only person in the entire world who could succeed at that."
His warm eyes seemed to glint as Mikoto spoke those words, though she could not discern if it was merely a trick of the shifting light or something else entirely.
Still, she did not allow herself to pause. Her words began to flow with a passion that surprised even her. "I want to join you, Hidetada. I want to be part of your mission to fix this world, so that ou– my future children can know the meaning of true peace. I want them to grow up without the constant shadow of war hanging over their heads, without the fear that their lives will be cut short by the endless greed of humanity." Mikoto finished her plea, the flames of zeal burning bright in her usually gentle eyes.
Hidetada could not suppress the smirk that pulled at the corners of his mouth with his eyes containing a pleasant surprise. It was the expression of a man seeing another piece of a complex puzzle fall perfectly into place.
They stopped walking and he turned his entire body toward her, extending his hand toward her as if posing a challenge. "This path is not for the weak of heart, Mikoto. Are you absolutely certain that you will not step back, no matter what horrors we must endure or what sins we must commit?"
She stared at his outstretched arm for a long moment, her expression unreadable under the golden twilight.
Then she slowly raised her own hand and clasped his firmly. Her face hardened into a mask of steely resolve as she spoke her vow, "I will follow you, Hidetada. It does not matter where the path leads or what the world calls us. I am yours to command."
For a fleeting second, Mikoto felt a cold shiver of doubt. His face seemed to shift, his features twisting into something momentarily sinister before settling back into a solemn, mask-like expression. But she did not pull away. Her heart was already set, and the bridge behind her had already been burned.
Hidetada's voice turned grim and resonant as he finally spoke the words that sealed her fate.
"Then the deal is struck, Mikoto Uchiha. Today, you leave the shadows of the past behind you once and for all. From this breath onward, you are no longer a mere Heir of the Uchiha. You are an instrument of the new world's design."
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Sorry guys, but this fanfiction is now on Hiatus until further notice, you can still read up to 20 chapters ahead, but I won't be updating it for now.
You can vote to decide which fandom my next fanfiction should be based in on my Patreon.
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Patreon: patreon.com/dekiru77
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Word Count: 2708.