BEHOLD THE BIRTH OF THE
GODS OF FIRE, PART THREE

THERE WAS ONCE THAT DAY WHEN TATARA HD ITACHI IN HER ARMS. She still cannot help but feel uncomfortable with the spawn of Mikoto just with her, eyes wide, holding the gaze passed down from their former Clan Lady's eyes, the wife of the previous Clan Head, Washiza-sama━━their Lady Mazuna, named after their deserter's brother, Uchiha Izuna, believing that she too will serve the Uchiha Clan beyond what her eyes can offer. Itachi's eyes are a deep black as expected of someone of his heritage, and his gummy smiles do not suit what Tatara had dreamed of him.

Itachi has a not-so impressive name despite the attempts of honoring the Second-Clan-Head-Washiza-since-the-birth-of-Konoha. The animal name is applied but a weasel is what they are given. Perhaps they took inspiration from the kamaitachi(1) who will run by them and leave them in nothing but disaster and strewn limbs. Itachi will paint their walls a deep, deep red, just like his namesake, and he will fix them in that same instance.

Tatara holds the baby and she walks through the district of the Uchiha Clan. She points to a stand. "That is the Uchiha Senbei. They are owned by Teyaki-jiisan and Uruchi-baasan. They have stood since the beginning of Konoha," she purrs in Itachi's ear, "their son is Yakumi-san. He aims to be part of the Police Force. I have no doubt he will."

She continues. "That is the home of Matsuma-sama, an elder. He has four sons━━" The second hoped to marry Mikoto and the third, fiercely in love. "━━two of them are in the Police Force, the youngest recently turned chuunin, and the eldest is intended to replace Matsuma-sama."

Itachi gurgles.

"Hazuo-san owns the Weapon's Shop. He has a son and two daughters. His eldest will replace him in the future, and his second daughter married one of Kuboshike-sama's sons. His first daughter though..." Tatara trails. "She lives outside of The Clan right now, Hazuki-san. She married a man with no Clan Heritage and Hazuo-san greatly disapproved. Hazuki-san was supposed to marry the Iron Dealer of The Clan's son, you see, Tetsujou-san.

"Oh, over there is where Gorosa-san lives. He is the father of Tekka. He also has lots of children, all of whom look like Tekka.

"That's Inabi-san━━" Tatara nods when she meets the long-haired Uchiha's eyes. Inabi's expression shifts from uncomfortable to elated to unsure before it finally settles to stoic. He glances at Itachi. "Inabi-san, I was just talking to Itachi-kun about you."

"About me?!" Inabi becomes startled, cheeks reddening. "I, I am sure there is nothing about me worth talking about."

Tatara gives him a measuring look before turning to Itachi. "Inabi-san is one of the youngest ones in the Police Force. It is a wise decision to look up to him," she tells the baby.

"Tatara-san━━"

"Inabi-san, I think it is wiser if you introduce yourself to our Clan Heir," Tatara reminds and Inabi huffs.

Inabi stands straight and he towers them all too easily. He bows to the infant. "I am Inabi, Itachi-sama, named after your grandmother's uncle, Inabikari-sama whose Lightning Ninjutsu was famed to be the best The Clan has birthed. I aim to be like him as well," he greets, "may Shinatsuhiko-sama be kind to you, and may He settle the winds to fuel your fire."

"And may Susanoo-sama grace you his favor in your conquest to wield his most treasured," Tatara responds, in the same archaic way the Uchiha used to sing in the days when the world still remembered the kami, "and of course, this is our Clan Head's son, Itachi, named after Washiza-sama and Izuna-sama."

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HER GRANDFATHER HOLDS HIS LIQUOR WELL BUT ON THE DAYS THAT HE DOESN'T, he ends up talking more about the Sengoku Jidai than ever. Tatara has no choice but to lend an ear to her grandfather's endless stories and sometimes, she finds them really interesting too. One of the stories she finds particularly odd is the story of a certain cousin's death━━or as much as she can call the young boy her cousin who died before her parents was born, before Konoha was born━━that explicitly emphasized how deadly Hashirama's chakra was towards his enemies.

The Shodai Hokage was known for not only his Mokuton but also how skilled he was in using it despite his vast chakra. Hashirama was a powerhouse among all powerhouses; with chakra reserves triumphing even those of the Uzumaki Clan, chakra control that can make the Senju Tsunade look like a mere child, and a unique chakra release that even doujutsu holds nothing to. To say that Hashirama was a god of Shinobi, as he shares that title with the Sandaime Hokage, is wrong. He is the god of Shinobi. Nobody can ever hold a candle to Senju Hashirama and to hear that Takobu witnessed his greatness sends shivers down Tatara's spine.

But Takobu said nothing but complaints. There is no blind worship or begrudging respect, no comments about his brilliance or his greatness. Only a terribly bitter and old hatred that came from having been born during the Sengoku Jidai.

Takobu, drunk and red in his cheeks, talked about his first encounter with Hashirama like a teenage boy; "Oh, he was our worst nightmare. A man who can heal and fight like a god━━and during those times, healing only came from the Hyuuga, the Senju, and the Nara. It was scarce and unique. And this man suddenly comes; Uzumaki reserves, Hyuuga control, and a kekkei touta? It was unfair. His chakra was suffocating━━it felt like betrayal, and traitors, and the way he bent nature to his whims as he killed the children of The Clan," for once, Tatara felt Takobu's fear as his hands shook around the sake bottle he downed, "to live so close to him, his chakra crawling to the edges of my meager sensory skills, I couldn't calm down. Not when I saw a cousin, younger than me by years, awaken his Sharingan at the sheer fear his suffocating chakra. And they expected us to just accept him as our leader? Rubbish! He was━━"

Tatara does not know what exactly happens after that but there is a vague memory of Hotaru coming in their home and sending her grandfather a look of disappointment.

For all the fact that Tatara was raised as an Uchiha and will always be one, she was also raised as a Konoha-nin. Worshipping the great Hashirama's feet is something she was built to do but seeing the fear Takobu has for that man, the way he spoke of how chakra can feel like betrayal━━

It makes her wonder of Hashirama's chakra feels like this.

From the corner of her eyes as Ikkaku and Shishiro usher them to their next destination, she wonders if whatever Koichi is doing, whatever he is making her feel, she wonders if Hashirama's chakra feels like that. Betrayal. Unsurety. As if you cannot trust anybody in the world anymore. As if the woods calling you in and then gnashing your bones and letting you bleed into its roots.

She feels Tekka's hand squeeze her shoulder reassuringly and she is not sure if that is enough. "Tekka..." She mumbles.

"We have to wait," and Tatara is not sure if Tekka is telling that to the younger girl or to himself. Perhaps to both, perhaps more to himself because Koichi is not supposed to be hiding things from them, not when they have given them everything they can offer; an easy entrance to the Uchiha District, a place to call home, a friendship they can hardly give to anyone else ... what is Koichi hiding from them?

And what annoys Tatara as well is how Shiranui Genma is acting like nothing happened, as if he did not feel significantly wary of their blond teammate. But it was never really a secret that the older boy was aiming to become an assasination specialist, if that senbon on his mouth is not a big enough indication. He's basically screaming to be sent to Anbu.

"━━ra! Tatara! Hey, Tatara!"

Tatara snaps her head up and almost jumps when she meets Koichi's wide and green eyes. "Are you alright? You've been spacing out a lot," he comments.

It takes her more than a beat to reply and Koichi squints at her because of this. "I'm okay," she answers unsurely.

Tatara then wonders. If she asked Koichi if he was okay, would he say the same?

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FORTUNATELY, no battles came their way when they arrived to the Kagiri Slope. It took too much time to arrive to the Kakou Hills, however, especially with three Chuunin being carried by one of the stronger members of their team. One of them had lost their left arm in attempt to block themselves from an upcoming sword-wielding Kumo-nin, not having expected that a mere Chuunin of the same caliber had a blade so fine that it could cut through the armor he had. Ikkaku, of course, frowns at this revelation.

Tatara tries her best not to grimace at the missed opportunity to showcase her control over her Fire Ninjutsu as she watches Chuunin Squad Leader Hayake make their fire manually. While Kumo is not known for their sensors, sensors are not at all as rare as they seem. Using Fire Ninjutsu will leave remnants of chakra, which is why it only makes sense to create fire manually rather. Covering up manually-created fire is easier than hiding remnants of chakra, she remembers her old Academy Instructor state to them, his bored face and voice embedded in her mind, it can take hours or days for traces of your chakra to leave. It depends on how much you use, how good the sensor is, and of course, how well you can control your chakra. Sages like our Jiraiya-sama have no problem in releasing his chakra to Nature, as he is a Sage, himself.

Huddling around the fire, Ikkaku scratches out a map on the muddy soil, one of the many signs that they are getting close to the Land of Wind━━rain has become more frequent, dew more prominent in comparison to the humid weather of the Land of Fire. "Following what Mitsu said here," he glances briefly at the crippled Chuunin, "Kumo seems to be spitting out better shinobi. Was it a chakra blade, Mitsu?"

Mitsu nods. "They were."

"Quantity over Quality," announces Shishiro, "we have gotten too used to Kumo producing second-rate Genin and Chuunin in favor of numbers. The rumors of the Sandaime Raikage close to retiring seems to be associated to this. Perhaps his son is integrating himself into their government and is bringing forth this change?"

"I," Hayake pauses, "I work in the T&I with Ikkaku-san. His son is definitely close to taking the mantle. His name has been changed already. They call him A now."

Ikkaku hums. "The Raikage is known for being the one to subdue their Jinchuuriki which is no easy feat. He must be warier of his death especially in war where the Jinchuuriki is more exposed to losing control. They're probably just waiting for his death or for the war to end," he says offhandedly, "as I was saying, we're getting closer and closer to the Bunri Forest. That's where the real battle is going to begin. Genin━━" He looks at the Uchiha Duo and their bastard Yamanaka. "━━Chuunin━━" He shifts his gaze to the sullen ones. "━━and even us, Jounin, we will not be able to choose our fights properly when we fully engage to the battle there. If you can run from an enemy you know is leagues above you, run."

Tatara grimaces. Running... is not part of what she was taught in The Clan. Uchiha never run. They never do and she is nothing but an Uchiha. She looks away from Ikakku and accidentally meets Tekka's eyes. He mimics her expression.

For Uchiha like them, the first thing that greets them are love and pride━━love because there is no one who will love them more than The Clan, pride for there is no one who will be love them more than The Clan. It is only right for them to return this setiment. They will abide The Clan's laws, show their love, show their pride, and they can only do that when they bring home spoils of the enemy.

Chakra blades, Tatara thinks in supressed excitement. Those are a novelty among shinobi and not everybody can use them. While The Clan has access to blacksmiths who can make them as they wish, chakra blades from Kumo are different. And she vows to offer them to The Clan. A spoil of war. An offering to the Shrine of Takemikazuchi(2) near the Training Grounds, right next to the blacksmiths.

There are no better blacksmiths than Kumogakure and Kirigakure, one prioritizing chakra conduct and the other emphasizing that one does not need chakra to cut down metal and bones. Compared to them, Konoha creates nothing but second-rate weapons. Tatara pales at this acknowledgement. But, she thinks━━The Uchiha are Kagutsuchi's spawns; god of smiths and of fire.

They will have nothing but the best.

They are, after all, known for their Shurikenjutsu and Tatara is an advanced practitioner of such style.

Ikkaku gives her a warning glance to which she huffs at. "Orders will come in the morning. For now, you are dismissed." He disappears in a shunshin.

Tatara stares at their meager set-up here in the Kakou Hills, hidden a little too close to the border but safe enough knowing that Kumo will not dare attack a border close to the Land of Rice Fields, one of their sources for food because surely you cannot plant anything in the mountains. There are no fields to cultivate in such land. Kumo will not do anything to harm their wobbly relationship with the other country.

"Ah, if it isn't Kinko-chan!"

Koichi takes a quick glance at her back, making her reflexively follow his gaze. People hovering behind her always makes her feel uncomfortable like any respectable shinobi. Makio heads towards them, having come from a fight judging by the blood splatters on his cheek and the bruises on his arms. "Kinko-chan, Goroko(3)!" He greets Tatara and Tekka.

Instead of being angered at the obvious disregard of his person, Koichi snorts. "Goroko?" He points at Tekka and laughs heartly. "Goroko! That's a good one!"

"Koichi," Tekka hisses.

"So━━sorry," Koichi cackles.

Tatara crosses her arms at Makio. "Makio-san. From which battle did you come from?" She asks, curiosity laced in her words.

The older Uchiha shrugs his shoulders. He attempts to pat Tatara on the head but Tatara is quick to swat his hand away. He mockingly grins at her, the expression disappearing as fast as it appeared. Tatara resists the urge to make him grovel. While it is true that Makio is a Jounin to her Genin, she still has a higher standing in The Clan; her father and mother are well-known clan members, her grandfather and his line have always been Elders of The Clan. "From the Bunri Forest, of course," he answers, "the fight's still going on. Probably will continue for about a week. I just got stationed out because one of my Team members are critically injured. I would be careful if I were you too, Kinko-chan."

"My name is Tatara. You know that."

"Kinko suits you more though, Takobu-sama's golden child."

"Are you mocking me?" Tatara bristles.

Makio raises his hands in surrender. "Of course not, Kinko-chan! Anyway, I look forward to working with you tomorrow in the frontlines. Remember to take care of those eyes, won't you? Who knows what The Clan━━" He spits it out as if it is vile, voice dripping in poison. "━━might do if their golden child lost her eyes. And Yamanaka-kun..."

"It's Kudou," Koichi corrects uncomfortably.

"Is it?" Makio chuckles. "Well, if I were you, I would get out of this team as soon as I get promoted to Chuunin. If you survive this, I have no doubt you'll get promoted so━━"

"What the hell is your problem?" Koichi demands angrily, his discomfort fading the more he spends his time around Makio. He steps in front of his two Uchiha teammates. "Tatara and Tekka aren't even doing anything to you!"

Makio's smile only widens. "You said you're called Kudou? A bastard of the Yamanaka then," he concludes as if he did not already know it, "do you know what happens to the bastards of The Clan? Do you know, Ku-dou?"

"Makio━━"

"Sure, they're kept in The Clan but do you know how they're treated? How their parents are treated? They're shunned. They're mistreated. They're━━"

"Makio," Aburame Shishiro appears out of nowhere, his features hidden by the layers covering his body, "your teammate is awake." He looks at his angered team. "I'm sure a Jounin has better things to waste his time on than bullying a bunch of Genin."

"Come on, Shiro-chan! You know I'm not━━"

"Makio."

That finally shuts the oldest Uchiha in their group up. His smile shrivels to a frown and Koichi thinks he looks very much like an Uchiha now that he had dropped the happy façade he seems to be so fond of. Makio glares at the group, eyes flaring with the red of the Sharingan for a moment before it disappears. He scoffs like an Uchiha and he walks away, back ramrod straight like an Uchiha. The Clan symbol is bold on his back, wearing the Uchiha's colorings, tailored wear, features, and pale skin.

Uchiha Makio is an Uchiha. That much is easy to tell.

Koichi finally checks up on his teammate. Tatara does not meet his eyes (do you know what The Clan does to bastards?) and neither does Tekka (do you know how they're treated; how their parents are treated?) even when he gives them a reassuring smile. "Tatara━━" The girl walks away like Makio does, their postures too alike to not notice their resemblance. "Uh, Tekka?"

Tekka nods at him. "Koichi..." He mutters.

"You alright? It's only thanks to Shishiro-san! If he didn't come, that Makio would've━━"

"I have to follow Tatara. Takobu-sama insisted that she is not to be left alone," Tekka hesitates, "we will meet you for the debriefing, Koichi. And thank you for the assistance, Shishiro-sensei, though it was not necessary. The Aburame Clan has no business with the Uchiha. I must go."

Koichi stares helplessly as Tekka also walks away. Like Makio. Like Tatara. They all look alike. Their frowns, their quirks, the sharpness of their eyes, their mannerisms, their postures, their words, their grunts, and habits. This is the first time Koichi had met an Uchiha that... does not have positive views on The Clan.

Shishiro puts a hand on his shoulder. "Worry not. They are Uchiha. Whatever happened today will not hinder their performance in the next. They wish to take a trophy to bring back to their clan and..." He looks at the skies. "The Uchiha do not let their teammates die. Everything will be alright in the next day, Koichi-kun."

The blond sighs. "If Fugaku-sensei was here," he shuts his mouth when he realizes what he is saying, "I━━I mean, you're great, Shishiro-sensei but Fugaku-sensei is, uh, you know, um━━I━━I'm sorry."

"No, no, I understand."

"Still..."

"Blood is thicker than water," Shishiro quotes, "for the Uchiha, it is even more than that. There is no one who can understand Tekka-kun and Tatara-kun more than their own Clan Head. And as someone of the Aburame, and only a temporary Jounin Instructor, I have limited control over them. While I can order them just as any superior officer can, Fugaku-san is someone they will follow in a heartbeat."

Koichi sighs. "I thought so. But... speaking of Fugaku-sensei, do you know where he is?"

Shishiro hums. "I believe him to be in the borders of the Land of Wind. There is no other village that fears him as Sunagakure. Their chakra strings and Genjutsu are no match for his Sharingan."

"Wicked Eye Fugaku... do you think I'll get a nickname as cool as that, sensei?"

Their temporary Jounin Instructor contemplates this for a while and becore Koichi can retort about being offended, Shishiro answers: "For Shinobi like us, Koichi-kun, saddled in a team of powerhouses who will no doubt be known throughout the Shinobi Nations, it is better to be kept in the dark. There is no better Jounin than a powerful Jounin that the Bingo Book does not see."

Koichi's eyes sparkle. "Are you... are you in the Bingo Book, sensei?"

"Unfortunately, I am. While not as noteworthy as, perhaps, Makio-kun, I am still in the Bingo Book."

Koichi grins. "A powerful Jounin the Bingo Book doesn't see. That sounds kind of cool!"

"Indeed it does. I doubt your Uchiha teammates will not share the same━━"

"Who cares?" Koichi eagerly exclaims. "They can hog the spotlight all they want. I'm a Genjutsu Specialist and I'm not as great with Ninjutsu and Taijutsu like Tatara and Tekka anyway. As long as I can help them, I'll do it! And if it means being a Jounin who's not in the Bingo Book, then I'll take it! My enemies won't know me so that's a great element of surprise, don't you think?"

Shishiro smiles fondly at Koichi. "The best."

The night has long sunken when Koichi, sleeping between Tatara and Tekka, breaks the silence, addressing Shishiro but purposeful enough to let Tatara and Tekka know of his plans.

"Do you think you can hook me up with someone who can teach me Medical Ninjutsu, sensei?"

A pause.

"We will see when we get back."

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━━ i've been gone for so long! i'm really, really sorry! my mental health was so bad and i had breakdowns almost everyday, plus wattpad's kind of freaking me out. i'm staying to finish this though, and kingdom come, along with my possible kirigakure world-building fanfic. anyway, here are the translations for this chapter:
• kamaitachi (鎌鼬, kamaitachi) are japanese yōkai who appear riding on dust devils and they cut people using the nails on both their hands that are like sickles. one would receive a sharp, painless wound.
• takemikazuchi (建御雷/武甕槌, takemikazuchi) is a deity in japanese mythology, considered a god of thunder and a sword god. he also competed in what is considered the first sumo wrestling match recorded in history.
• kinko (金子, golden child) is makio's reference to tatara being the golden child of her grandfather.
• goroko (ゴロ子, thug child) is makio's reference to tekka's father being named gorosa. 'goro' means 'thug' and 'ko' is often in the names of girls. makio was insulting both tekka's father and his name. tekka is very offended.

━━ UCHIHA ITACHI BEING NAMED AFTER IZUNA. that needa an explanation. so we all know that itachi's name means weasel but do you know what izuna means? 'izuna' is phonetically similar to 'iizuna' which means little weasel. so did we just see uchiha sasuke being madara's reincarnation and itachi and izuna being both 'weasels'? both dying for their brothers? both becoming the cause of their destruction? yes. we just did. not many people mention this so i thought of mentioning it too. funny how iizuna means 'little weasel', probably to reference izuna being the little brother instead of itachi being an older brother.

━━ i love including canon characters interacting with baby/toddler!itachi. it just makes you go "oh, wtf itachi you killed those guys?" for example is INABI whom you might recognize as one of the uchiha kmpf who interrogated itachi about shisui's death. he's described as awkward and always frowning here, but still loyal to the clan and respects itachi very much. i can only imagine what the clan thought of itachi when he decided to kill them all.

━━ i'm biased to the uchiha but i'm not disregarding the fact that they are pretty horrible. makio, itachi, and shisui are there to prove that. and KOICHI. do you really think koichi wants to stay hidden and learn medical ninjutsu just for him team? lol. definitely not.