#Sasuke does not owe her his feelings

[tootoomanycats]

Gambling Debts (Kakashi x Reader)

I've had this scene stuck in my head for a fic plot for almost two years, and finally am getting the itch to start writing it out. This is just a brain dump to get the juices flowing and hopefully commit to getting this story going. The story will have NSFW smut scenes in the future, but this fic will most likely be a sloooow burn, so minors please DNI. Set during the time in the early Naruto series when Tsunade was first sworn in as Hokage. Jiriya just took Naruto and Sasuke is still missing. Outline: Just when the new village leader is getting settled in an old acquaintance appears with a village-sized IOU of debts they had collected from all of Tusnade's past gambling spots. When it's clear that Tsunade will never be able to repay the debt, an old village law is brought up and everything is put into question. Warnings: None. Reader is fem-identifying.

“Did you know that when your village was first founded, a law was created where the Hokage's debts are also the village's debts?” As Shizune started to protest you snapped your fingers over your shoulder, on command your elderly hunched assistant scurried forward to place a black folder into the expecting hand. Pulling out simple reading glasses you sat them on the bridge of your nose as the folder opened with very old and worn-looking documents

 “Of course, the founders had no debts and did this as the start of their treasury for the village, but they never updated the law.” Dark eyes glanced pointedly back up to the now nauseated blonde's green face. “They must have also assumed that no Hokage would ever be so foolish as to accrue any debt amounts that could put the village into financial jeopardy.” “But that would mean that…you…no.”

Tsunade shook her head as her body gave out in horror and slummed in the large wooden chair, feeling as if the soul was leaving her body. Shizune looked between her lady and the now terrifying woman in front of her.

 “I don’t understand, what does that mean if she is the owner of your debts my lady?” Kakashi could barely get the murmur out as the realization started to seep into his skin. “It means that depending on how large the Hokage's debts are….” Tsunade snapped out of it and sprung up causing the chair to fly back into the windows behind her, thick beads of sweat dripping from all over her body. “YES! The debts surely can’t be that bad, we can use the extra funds in the treasury to close out what I owe to you.” With shaky hands and clammy palms, she fumbled with a pen from the drawer of her desk.

The atmosphere tensed at the sound of a soft chuckle.  

Reaching over the desk and gently pulling the pen from the blond to your own, you pulled a business card from the breast covering of the skin-tight black dress that wrapped around your figure, quickly jotting down the card before flipping it face down and sliding it in a single motion to where the two women were. Tsunade gulped as she gripped the paper in her hands and slowly flipped it over, Shizune gasped covering her mouth in shock at the number. “My Lady…Konoha…. has never had that much in its treasury. Not even if you add up all the years since its founding.“ Nervously she glanced back to where you still casually leaned against the desk.

“What does this mean?” Unable to stop the sly smile as you pressed off the desk and started walking to the door the sound of high heels clicking echoing in the silence. The assistant scrambled to catch up to their mistress while trying not to drop more files and documents that filled their arms. As the massive doors opened from the two accompanying giant security guards, you looked back at Tsunade who now sat with her head in her hands, and Kakashi who was now leaning against the bookcase for support. When your eyes contacted the petite brunette you spoke clearly, before disappearing behind the doors as they closed. “It means I own your village.”

[evenmorebeetles]

I come bearing Team 7 road trip headcanons

(very american road trip because that's what I'm familiar with)

Naruto calls shotgun, but that doesn't even last long enough for them to get on the highway before Kakashi sentences him to the back seat because he put his feet up on the dash and tried to steal the aux cord for his Super Awesome Road Trip Playlist

Sasuke tries to claim shotgun for himself afterwards but Kakashi declares that the front seat is now off limits.  Call it a bonding exercise

Whoever sits next to Naruto is inevitably going to smack him at some point and while Sakura hits harder than Sasuke, she's more patient than him, so she's in the middle with Sasuke behind Kakashi and Naruto behind the passenger seat so that he can kick the back of it without causing an accident or a murder

No one ever actually sees him take it off somehow but every 45 minutes someone has to yell at Naruto to put his seatbelt back on.

Naruto wants to play a road trip game, which Sakura thinks is a novel and fantastic idea.  She makes puppy eyes at Sasuke until he agrees to play.  It actually goes well until Sasuke starts cheating during I Spy by describing billboards that passed them in half a second.  Naruto and Sasuke bicker over whether this is actually cheating or not, and Sakura takes Naruto's side, much to Sasuke's indignation and Naruto's excited woops.  They get so loud that Kakashi threatens to start playing educational podcasts at max volume if they don't shut up

Sasuke puts his headphones in and you'd think he's listening to some punk alt emo rock album but nope he's got on a mixtape playlist Sakura and Naruto made him for his birthday

He leans his head on the window but the road is too bumpy for it to be comfortable.  Naruto notices and offers Sasuke his hoodie to put between his head and the glass, and Sasuke grumbles but ultimately accepts it if only so he can stop having a conversation that involves his friends being kind to him

Sakura tries to read but eventually gets too car sick and falls asleep with her head on Sasuke's shoulder

Naruto pulls out a handheld game and is careful to turn the volume all the way down so he doesn't wake Sakura up

Kakashi puts on a forest ambiance soundtrack instead of music, and Naruto is very confused.  He doesn't know that due to them being in the middle of nowhere, Kakashi can't get any service, leaving him only with the things he has pre-downloaded to his phone.  These are limited to forest ambiance and every Icha Icha novel on audiobook

Sakura does eventually wake up to go into a rest stop with Kakashi while Naruto and Sasuke wait in the car because they didn't feel like putting their shoes back on.  She comes back with each of their favorite snacks

Naruto has to use the bathroom 10 miles after leaving the rest stop

Everyone newly recharged with sugar, they agree on another road trip game where they have to find words starting with each sequential letter of the alphabet (chosen for its collaborative and therefore cheat proof nature)

They absolutely do the COWS thing whenever they pass a field

Sakura finally smacks Naruto upside the head when she catches him without his seatbelt on for the seventh time

Kakashi imposes a tax where he's owed a bit of snack every time someone asks if they're close or how much longer

Naruto and Sakura end up sharing a blanket (Sasuke isn't cold due to his recently acquired hoodie)

Naruto and Sasuke compete to see who can put more stickers on Sakura without her noticing.  When they get caught, Sasuke claims to have no knowledge of the game at all, and sure, Naruto never saw Sasuke put anything on Sakura, but he knows for a fact that not all those stickers were from him

Sai, who has been in the third row of seats the entire time unbeknownst to everyone else in the car, is very pleased with himself for winning

[adelinevw7]

uchiha sasuke’s daughter

People have said that the struggle of a son is to overcome his father: to defeat the man by exceeding all that he has accomplished.

But what of daughters?

Sarada knows what her father would say: that there is no need to measure up to him, that she has already exceeded him.

Being the manifestation of Sakura's kindness and Sasuke's hopes—together—Sarada has eclipsed them both.

Sasuke would insist that there is nothing more that she must do, that there is no feat that she needs to fulfill to be worthy.

She is enough.

Still, she cannot shake the feeling that there is something she owes to him. She has not yet learned the entirety of her clan's tragedy, but she has the gist of it. Her father traversed the impossible to make her possible. Surely this requires something from her, somehow.

Sarada thinks, perhaps it is guilt then, or duty. Perhaps a daughter is a personification of these feelings.

The thought wrinkles her brow as they take a rest from training. Nothing escapes her father's notice, and he is soon tapping at her shoulder to know what weighs on her.

"Everything okay?"

“Just some thoughts.” Sarada has never been an impeccable liar; she can only veil her unease by pulling back. Sasuke drops his questioning, but his silence is invitation. So she gathers her courage and allows herself to ask.

“Papa, what do you want my life to be?”

“What do you mean?”

“I know you’ll say I can be what I want, but there has to be something else to it.” She lowers her gaze, ashamed that she hasn’t yet figured it out. That she still has to wonder—“What does it mean to be Uchiha Sasuke’s daughter?”

He pauses in thought, with a peculiar look of sadness on his face. As if this is some line of inquiry he had pursued himself, only to be let down by the answers. Sasuke smiles when he looks at her again, and Sarada feels the tender caress of his hand against her cheek.

“It means you get to dream, Sarada.”

“But the clan…”

“… has been made new. The clan is now you. The past isn’t meant to be your burden.”

“Just like that?” The question bursts out of her, spurred by warring awe and disbelief. He nods.

“Just like that.” His assurance falls from his lips like wisdom, and some semblance of peace descends upon her.

Sarada marvels at the softness that the setting sun imparts to her father’s face. This moment will be etched forever in her memories now.

“To be my daughter… means that you get to know the precious boon or terrible affliction that freedom could be.”

[lavender-long-stories]

Sick and Twisted

Itachi x Hinata or Sasuke x Hinata | Blood Warning | Abandon from my WIP Folder

Hinata turned her head again. Could she trust what her eyes were telling her? The Byakugan was so rarely wrong. She stopped to focus on the chakra that had caught her attention. It was fading, but that wasn’t what concerned her. 

This was going against every fiber of her being, telling her to bolt for reinforcements first, but with that weak of chakra, she wouldn’t make it back in time. 

She swallowed her courage and headed directly for the signature. The closer she got the more sure she was.

Itachi Uchiha was dying.

Hinata tripped over herself at the edge of a clearing. Open and sunny and empty except for the figure under the shadow of a tree resting against its base, deathly still. She proceeded with caution across the clearing, trying to convince herself that the Akatsuki wouldn’t make such an obvious trap.

Itachi slumped unceremoniously against the tree with no signs of a struggle or wounds to speak of except blood around his mouth and in his hand.

Hinata closed in. He had no new injuries, but with further inspection of his chest, his lungs and heart were in horrible shape. With one swift movement and made his arms immobile. He didn’t even flinch. So he wasn’t faking.

She crouched down to examine him properly. He was barely breathing, and his heartbeat was fading. 

Did she save him? The Uchiha murder? 

Hinata believed in a fair trial for criminals, but were his crimes too great? Does a man like that deserve to be left to die? 

That wasn’t her decision to make, but that didn’t answer whether she should try to save him or just take his dying body back with her. 

Hinata dug through his back for information and found hoards of medications and painkillers among his expected things. How long had he been living with this condition? The label all had different dates, different doctors, different villages, different allies he had been using to get them. 

Hinata looked at his sickly face. Pity for the wicked? She’d deal with it.

She took out her handkerchief and wiped his lip clean. Murder or not, this was a painful death. 

Hinata was not a medic by any means, but she could try to make sure he survived the trip back to the village. She laid him out. He slumped, coughing. She felt her face sprayed before she could cover his mouth with the cloth, blood-soaked it. Maybe flat out was bad. She tucked her knees under his head and shoulders to keep them elevated and looked closely at the closures in his lungs. If she could stimulate the areas around the working areas, she wouldn’t heal him, but maybe she could keep them working until someone could look at him. She would have to be careful.

Before she could start, Itachi's eyes flew open and jolted forward with no use of his arms to cough blood just off her lap. “I’m… sorry so … sorry.” He choked out.

His unfocused eyes told her that he didn’t know where he was or that he was even awake. Who was he apologizing to? She cleaned his mouth again and focused on working on his lungs as he fell back unconscious.

Who do criminals apologize to?

--**--

The white sheets only emphasized how sickly pale he was. Itachi was incredibly light. His body mass wasted away with his condition. It was almost an insult to have him strapped down like he was. Where was he going?

Hinata sat in the corner of the room with a frown. She was investigated. It was hard to believe the weak Hyuga heir had just walked back home with one of the most well-known prodigies handing on her back.

Tsunade took over his care personally, partly because no one else was willing to save him, but Hinata had a feeling there was something else in the frown she had while she worked that made her want to help. Hinata was stationed to protect him. There was some concern that someone would try to take justice into their own hands. 

“He owes you his life.” Tsunade closed the door harder than she needed to, startling Hinata out of her thoughts before setting her clipboard down with a snap.

“What does he have?” Hinata hazarded. She pierced her lips together and set her eyes back on his weak face.

“A number of things, but the original cause seems to be an autoimmune disease that is not native to this area.” Tsunade rubbed her temple. “There is no reasonable conclusion why he’s lived this long. His lungs are thin and only partly working. His heart is ragged and should have given out with the barest of activity…” She sighed. “Which explains the reported change in his fighting style.”

“Did you find out if he is contagious?” Hinata didn’t want to ask, but she was sure she had tasted copper. Coming into contact with his blood could mean she would look like he did in a few months.

“He doesn’t seem to be, but early stages should be easily treatable if you know it’s there, so you will be fine,” Tsunade assured her.

Hinata didn’t feel reassured. That was a lot of unsure language.

Tsunade sat and crossed her legs. “The medications you found with him were pain medications and steroids for his lungs. They aren’t helping at all. If anything, they are going to run his heart to its last tick. He must have been living on pure willpower alone because I have no other medical explanation for this.” She clicked her tongue. “This is considered terminal in the region it comes from, and I would argue against that, but he’s had it for so long I’m sure everything else he had contracted is going to kill him before I can treat him.”

Hinata bit her lip. He was holding on, but why? He must have known it was terminal as bad of shape he was in and as many doctors as he had seen.

Tsunade sat up with a huff. “Thank you for taking this. I don’t really trust anyone else to not kill the poor bastard right now. Keep this a secret until I can speak to him.” She held a page from the clipboard. “If I’m unavailable, ask him these questions when he wakes up.”

Hinata nodded, taking the list.

Wow, this one is old. I think I wrote this way back when I was writing Lavender Clouds 2015-ish?

Knowing me, I am pretty sure this would have either been a SasuHina, where Itachi would have died, or an Itachi, where I would have found some way to heal him.

I have a vague memory of having Hinata contract Itachi's condition and Itachi lets them use him to test treatments for her.

I am realizing, looking through some of the older stuff, that they are a lot darker than I write now.

[keepyourpantsongohan]

Millions of Light-Years (Kikoeru Yō)

But every ninja carries something like that around to a greater or lesser extent. I'm like that, too. (Sasuke Shinden, Epilogue). | Ten Days of Tenzo (@tendaysoftenzo) Day 5: Kakashi | AO3 |

                           ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Sometime after the release of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Kakashi visits. 

It is no surprise. Naruto had sought out his former captain’s tent this morning, with Sai on his heels. Sakura had been quick to follow, though her visit had been briefer, given the amount of injured and ailing in her care. It was only a matter of time before word would reach Kakashi, and Kakashi would reach him. 

And Kakashi has done so, quietly slipping into Tenzō’s tent as he lays in rest. Tenzo hasn’t looked at him, or even lifted his heavy eyelids, but if there is a person he could recognize by footstep and sigh alone, it would be Kakashi.

“Chakra exhaustion?” Kakashi asks, perhaps to himself. 

“Almost. I’m still regenerating, slowly.” Tenzō replies.

He opens his eyes, and Kakashi is different. 

To start with, he has two black eyes. The sharingan is conspicuously absent, a symmetry which feels strange to Tenzō, but he imagines, must be stranger still for Kakashi. Naruto had said something about that. It hadn’t made sense at the time. It still doesn’t make sense now. His flak jacket is in tatters, but there are no visible bandages aside from his leg wrappings. It is difficult to decipher anything from looking at his face, aside from the fact he likely hasn’t slept in several days. 

“Are you injured?” Kakashi asks him, pragmatically. 

It is one of the more straightforward questions Kakashi could have asked him. Tenzō thinks about it. His body aches all over, but it is difficult to point to a specific cause. 

“Whatever it is that two days of forcible tenketsu activation does to you. My heart is also being monitored for the effects of Kabuto’s poison. And there’s been damage to the bones of the left inner ear. Partial loss of hearing. Hozuki’s jutsu, I’m told.” 

“Anything permanent?”

“Shizune won’t say so,” Tenzō admits, disconcerted. “But the other medics suggest low rates of full recovery. Medical ninjutsu for the eyes and ears doesn’t tend to be so precise. Even for me.”

Kakashi would know better than most, he supposes, how medical ninjutsu cannot bring back something that has been shattered or severed. He looks back at the other man’s face. For his part, Kakashi nods and then inclines his head towards Tenzō. Tenzō presses one sore leg against another to allow his companion to sit on the edge of his bedding.

Kakashi’s movements are unusually slow, and it prompts Tenzō to ask, “And your injuries?”

“Lacerations to the chest and left knee. A puncture wound to the abdomen. More than a few cuts, bruises and burns. But nothing I haven’t dealt with before.” Kakashi shrugs. “Naruto and Sasuke are much more banged up than I am.” 

It is somewhat of an understatement, considering Naruto was sporting one less arm this morning than the last time Tenzō had seen him, but Tenzō supposes they should be grateful that that was all they lost. Besides... “Naruto told me that Sasuke is back.” 

“Sasuke’s back,” Kakashi agrees warmly. For the first time since he’s arrived, Tenzō sees his cheeks lift in a relieved smile. “A little worse for the wear. He doesn’t heal as quickly as Naruto, so he’s under Sakura’s care now.”

Tenzō tries to smile back at him, but the muscles in his own face feel sluggish and uncontrolled. He settles for nudging his friend with his closest knee with the hope his meaning is conveyed. 

In lieu of a response, Kakashi reaches out and offers him a clumsy pat on the ankle. It is familiar, and for that reason, it is unbearably heavy. It feels like a house has been dropped on his chest. 

“Kakashi,” Tenzō says finally. “What happened?”

Contrary to the sigh that he responds with, Kakashi leans back to lay down on top of Tenzō’s blanket beside him. “Naruto told you, didn’t he?”

“He did.” Tenzō concedes. He isn't owed anything more than the information he's already been given. Even less, perhaps. “But I...” He trails off, uncertain but wanting. 

“It’s a long story,” is Kakashi’s eventual reply. 

“Well, as you can see, I’m in a hurry,” Tenzō deadpans, lifting one hand tiredly.

The laugh that comes in reply is one that Tenzō can feel, as it pushes Kakashi’s shoulder against his own and causes Kakashi’s hair, wild as ever and lacking hitai-ate, to prod his cheek. “Okay,” the other man says, closing his eyes as if to brace himself. When they open again, his gaze is somewhere distant. “I guess I should start with Obito.”

“Madara,” Tenzō says, both a question and a prompt. This much, he’s managed to piece together, as convoluted as each war story he’s heard has been. 

It’s unclear whether Kakashi’s responding hm is in agreement or protest. “You know how I got the sharingan.”

He does. It is not something Kakashi has chosen to speak of often, but Tenzō knows from both village intel and Kakashi’s own rare, grave words about it, how it’d come into his possession. “Kannabi Bridge. Your teammate, Uchiha Obito.” 

Kakashi nods, and this too, Tenzō feels. In his periphery, he sees Kakashi raise a hand to his own face and then let it fall. “Obito gave me a lot of things that day. My nindō. More time with Rin. My life, and his eye.” 

Tenzō tries to turn his head minutely, close as they are, to look at Kakashi. His scar remains on his face, unchanged. “I’ll get to that part later,” Kakashi adds wryly. 

“Sorry,” Tenzō says, settling himself back. He interlocks his fingers, resting them on his stomach. “I’ll listen.” 

“You know that each sharingan can develop its own ability. Itachi’s Tsukuyomi. Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami. My Kamui.” 

At the first name, Tenzō bites down the urge to ask more questions. He wonders if this is how Naruto felt during their rasenshuriken training. But he nods, and Kakashi continues. “Before reinforcements arrived, there were only a few of us on the battlefield. Myself, Gai, Naruto and Bee. Kyūbi and Hachibi. Tobi, and the bijū under his control through the Gedō Statue.” 

With all that he knows Team 7 has faced in the past few days, this should hardly surprise Tenzō, but the image of Kakashi and Gai being underfoot even one bijū makes his blood run cold, let alone several. Unlike himself, Bee, or Naruto, they have no monstrous form of power to protect them. He feels a wave of nausea roll over him, and holds his fingers more tightly together. “You make it sound much simpler than it is,” Tenzō tells him. 

“That battle feels simpler than anything else I’ve seen recently,” Kakashi replies wearily. Tenzō feels a shaky inhale at his side. Kakashi’s voice is much quieter in his next words. “Tobi... Obito... we learned while fighting that my Kamui and his technique were the same. Two halves. The Infinite Tsukuyomi was the first Madara’s device, and Obito was the fuse.”

“I’m sorry,” Tenzō says again. 

“Me too,” says Kakashi. “For many things up until now. Obito, Rin, Itachi, Gai, you... There are a lot of things I wish I could’ve done differently.” 

They are looking at each other again, and Tenzō wonders what Kakashi sees in his face. “That isn’t your responsibility,” he says, more sharply than he intends. 

Kakashi raises a brow at him. Not unkindly, he replies, “Yours either.”

The words verge on something too close for comfort. Tenzō swallows around a suddenly tight throat. He unclasps his hands, flexing his fingers and retracting into a fist, once, twice, three times, repeating, feeling ten years old again all at once. It takes him a moment to catch his breath. “Naruto said... Obito helped you, in the end?”

Kakashi’s hand finds one of his, stilling it. He brings two of Tenzō’s fingers to his other wrist, letting Tenzō feel his steady pulse. It is slower than Tenzō’s counting, and his friend waits. When several moments of respite have passed, Kakashi tells him, “Obito helped us. We couldn’t have defeated Kaguya or undone the Infinite Tsukuyomi without him. We parted as friends.”

“I’d ask how, but I have a feeling I know.” Tenzō manages a smile this time. “Naruto has a way of getting people to see things through his eyes.”

Kakashi chuckles. “Better than anyone I know. He got through to Obito, and to Sasuke. He might’ve even eventually found a way to reach Madara, too, in time. He’s going to make quite the Hokage,” he adds. 

“Seventh, I hear,” Tenzō says slyly, tapping his fingers against his companion’s wrist.

To his amusement, Kakashi’s ears go red, his pulse picking up. “Ah, well...” And then, something in his face softens, and both eyes crease in a smile. “Yes.”

Yet again, Tenzō feels like he is walking the halls of a well-frequented haunt, only to find that the inside is not quite recognizable. But Kakashi’s expression is warm and sincere, and he grasps tightly onto the familiarity of that. “That’s what you get for saving the world,” he replies, as lightly as he is able. 

Kakashi shakes his head. “I don’t think I had much to do with that. They’d have found a way, with or without me.”

This terrain is more habitual, and Tenzō regains some of his footing. Eyeing his bedfellow doubtfully, he asks, “Is that so, Kakashi of the Susano’o?” 

At that, Kakashi flinches, letting out a startled laugh. He finally drops their gathered hands, but they land between their two bodies, so Tenzō can still feel the clamminess of Kakashi’s knuckles. “Where did you hear that?” 

“Naruto and Sakura seem to have taken it upon themselves to rehabilitate the reputation of every Uchiha who helped them out. They had a lot to say about your eyes.” Tenzō explains. With a furrowed brow, he adds, “Though I couldn’t really follow all of their stories.”

Kakashi sighs. “You’re not alone in that. No one else was awake for Kaguya’s return, so we’ve had a lot of explaining to do.”

Tenzō tries to picture it. “I imagine some of that must’ve been a tough sell.”

It paints a vaguely amusing mental image to picture Kakashi and his students trying to draw out diagrams of rabbit goddesses and alternate dimensions like a jōnin sensei might do while explaining chakra theory to their genin team. Tenzō visualizes the battlefield as a classroom, and imagines the Kage raising their hands to ask questions. 

“You’d be surprised what people are willing to accept if you release them from an endless genjutsu,” Kakashi says, interrupting his thoughts. 

Ah. Tsukuyomi. This is the one part of the war where his recollections are his own. 

Tenzō wonders if anyone else’s deepest desires were as mortifyingly mundane as his. So close within their reach. So contrary to what they have been able to achieve. His fist closes again, and this time it is Kakashi’s fingers that reach for his hand, pressing down. Calloused, warm, and unlike any that have been touching him lately. Not measuring, but grounding. 

“Do you remember much?” Kakashi asks. His tone is gentle, not unlike what he's used in particularly difficult missions, when they have faced an enemy he has no desire to fight.

It is only by merit of the polysemous nature of Kakashi’s question that Tenzō is able to answer. “Nothing that I can say now,” he says simply; beseechingly. 

In the pause that follows, he risks a look at Kakashi. His expression has an air of compassion that feels misplaced, but luckily, all the other man does is nod. Tenzō closes his eyes again. 

Kakashi’s breathing is so even beside him that Tenzō wonders if he might have fallen asleep. His own fatigue has started to catch up with him, weighing down his eyelids again and keeping them from reopening. Even the questions that remain in mind feel more and more distant, as if carried away by water. It is in this half-conscious state that Tenzō hears, “When you have something to say, I’ll listen.”

Tenzō remains silent, but he grips Kakashi's hand in turn as he drifts off. 

[kankuroplease]

Could you share some Shisui hc, if you have any, pls?

On one hand; Shisui is ruthless when it comes to working for the Uchiha. He doesn’t care about pleases of mercy, agonizing screams, he’s not squeamish about blood, etc.

He’d only be dealing with them in that manner if the royally fucked up, so the blame is on them in his opinion

And on the other; he’s all smiles and jokes. No one really knows what to make of him

While everyone one is playing checkers, Shisui has been playing chess since he was 10.

Madara had all the money and power, so he plotted his own adoption by the leader of the Uchiha. Taking knife to the gut defending him was a small price to pay for opening the golden doors of opportunity

And although he admires Madara, he’s never truly seen him as his father. Just the boss he respects and wants the job of

He encouraged Obito to focus on going pro for both their benefits one less person for him to compete with and the sweet idiot would be less likely to die and break his heart as a pro fighter than sticking with the “business”

Kakashi’s the one that did his tattoo piece. He could’ve gone to Minato like all the others, but Minato wanted to be a family man and Kashi can’t kick out the guy that’s brought him so much business since completing his piece

He told the Uchiha’s to let Rin into Obito’s room after his accident for Obito’s benefit after he realized who she was

He introduced Toneri to Hinata in a way she’d think she made the connection herself for the Hyuga/herself. This made his business with her a little more pleasant as she’d be in a lighter mood.

He looks out for Hanabi because very few people outside of Neji and Hinata do. Plus babysitting her is the only way Hinata will give him deals.

Bonus that Hanabi talks too much and spills names and locations of the grown people that owe him money

Is very friendly with Sakura because he has a feeling Tsunade will sway her into finishing medical school and who doesn’t need a good reputable doctor

tried to be cool with Sasuke for his own benefit. If he is going to run things one day, he’d like to at least know something about the kid Sakura and Itachi’s lips are sealed

He uses Chiha’s love of money to bribe her to croon his men. He knows quite a few of them are interested in the little Uzumaki and if they’ve been good, why not reward them with her lovely presence

She really only agrees because Shisui has a strict respect the entertainer policy and he pays her a lot

Michi marrying Neji was not in in plans and he didn’t like that he probably would’ve paired her with Sasuke to build a better connection for himself there. Hot Sauce doesn’t do new friends, but he can still work her marriage to his favor

Despite his ulterior motives, he does care about the people in his life. He just wants what he wants and has a bad habit of treating others as NPCs and pawns.

Itachi is his competition; but he’s also his one good friend. So he’s keeping their foght for leader clean. Even Hana is off limits for Itachi

They often do interrogations together for maximum effect and clean up

See he can play nice?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, he loves kkobri’s kids. Even if his presence has to be “approved” first, he likes seeing their little faces and buying them gifts.

Makes him think he might want his own minions one day. But business first 🤧

Uchiha manwhore leaving broken hearts everywhere because he doesn’t play favorites and has no interest in settling down

Very flirtatious and playful outside of work

He’s never failed to complete a task

Actually a picky eater and embraced about it

He still maintains a respected and feared place within the Uchiha. Which many believe would make him a good leader in the future as planned

His nicer moments to strangers are the ones when he’s helping the down-trotten. He has a whole apartment complex that’s simply “pay what you can” for rent he covers the property tax of the building by inflating the price of the people with money he doesn’t like

Owning all the real estate that he does give him freedom to move himself and founds around freely

His main residence is also home to a lot of his men and weapons collection penthouse life

His weakness lies in his past, which he keeps guarded

His parents went out of their way to help others and when he does the same, he can almost imagine their happy faces

he has paranoia about footsteps in stairwells. They’re the perfect trap that’s how his parents were ambushed

The only one who’s ever noticed his unease with stairwells was Itachi, but Shisui tried to play it off

1000/10 he’s planning and plotting.

[allgather]

mizrayim, the narrow place & shisui uchiha.

hebrew words & jewish stories that this drabble references are here.

time moves agonizingly slowly, yet often without shisui’s notice. he finds no use in marking the days on a calendar he cannot read and, he suspects, sasuke cares only for time-keeping in terms of hours spent training and progress made. the stretch of months following the massacre ( and he winces at the word. shisui refuses to say it aloud, but he can’t stop from thinking it entirely when it is what the village has taken to calling his clan’s tragedy ) are a blur of numbness and grief. he isn’t able to differentiate the days, yet perhaps he doesn’t try all that hard, as he binds himself to the house and recovers from injury, retrains his senses in near-solitude.

this is better, shisui thinks, than risking an encounter with the man who’s face haunts the sightless space where his eyes used to be. he won’t ever forget the feel of danzo’s chakra, utterly constricting as it was. too close as the man loomed over him, held him down to take from and let die ( shisui has only felt it once since and the memory makes him verge on panic. a mass of malice so strong he could feel it prickling against his skin, waiting for him at home the day of his release from the hospital. so horribly familiar as danzo leaned in, just as he’d done before, to utter threats and demand his silence, his complete obedience and compliance. shisui had retched after his departure, unable to stomach it ).

the little he knows of days passing he owes to those whose motions keep him tethered to the world outside; sasuke’s coming and going from the academy marking each morning and afternoon and kakashi’s visits, which bring meals and conversation, but also idle news from the village and its festivals. his own clan’s customs mean these celebration have always had little to do with him, but they help orient him in time. the year is passing, moving forward around shisui, even if he only ever has the vaguest awareness of it. konoha is temperate and the weather gives him little information, but when he sits on the porch and smells cherry blossoms in the air, he knows it is april on the common calendar once again.

oh. that means it is nisan, nearly time for pesach. funny, he thinks, that this aviv, this springtime, brings him nothing close to the promised renewal.

yet, the time of year does bring memories, phantoms that play tricks on his remaining senses. the sweetness in the air intermingles somewhere in his recollection with the smell of rich bone broth soup and matzah balls in mikoto’s kitchen. if he strains, he can feel the warmth of her hand on his back as she directed him, along with her own sons, away from the cooking when they tried to steal a taste. shisui remembers more; growing impatient during the seder, entertaining himself by flicking salt water from prepared bowls at itachi to watch his reaction. he had laughed so often then.

he wishes he’d paid more attention to the story, to the symbol behind each component of the ritual. he was a child, preoccupied with the promise of the meal at the ritual’s end and aggravating his younger cousins for pure amusement. now, the box of old, leather-bound haggadot sits abandoned in a place too haunted for shisui to return. but he does remember a word, one that had crossed his mind not too long ago, when the feeling of danzo’s chakra had choked him in his own home. mizrayim, the narrow place.

shisui sits alone on the eve of pesach, recalling this word that his ancestors had once used to describe the place that kept them imprisoned, and his chest aches in quiet resonance. yes, he thinks he understands now, why recounting the story of their liberation and exodus was so fervently observed by his clan, their victory and freedom so joyously celebrated. for the uchiha, this village has long been mizrayim, and shisui feels the full weight of it now, as it constricts him, presses against his body and soul.

he thinks of sasuke, who he’s sworn to protect and kakashi, to whom he’s dared voice the thought of liberation from the weight of this narrow place. perhaps there will be renewal this spring after all, as they meet under the guise of the observance of an old holiday to plan their escape, just as his ancestors had done thousands of years ago.

he spares a thought to itachi, too, who he’s sworn to find and demand answers from. shisui speaks a quiet prayer, a promise that, once, their voices had said together with the rest of their clan: l’shanah ha-ba’ah b’yerushalayim.

now we are separate, next year may we be together. now we are oppressed, next year may we be free.

[faerociousbeast]

hinata has a lot of inner strength though and supported naruto from the beginning more than sasuke

where did you even come from.... anyways i did say id offer asks like this a little of my time from now on since you seem to have difficulties with your brains when viewing the series yourselves so.

inner strength? i imagine youre referring to her attempting to train herself and then literally not getting anywhere. i do not doubt canon! she did Attempt to do that. however, that isnt really a basis for claiming her external status either.

and no see this is my biggest problem with you people. stop claiming things and giving her credit for things shes never done! admiring is not the same as supporting. she did not hate him ever! this is true!

however, when did this ever HELP naruto? this is where you all seem to get rather confused. heres the thing- she didnt. she never approached him, she never offered him a connection, and youre welcome to equate this to her "shyness" and timidness but then youll have to admit she did Not Do Those Things. and that her so called "kindness" didnt help him when he actually needed it.

he didnt even know she existed. this is not his fault. hinata never made an attempt to let him know she existed. it is NOT his fault for not "loving her back" or "being dense" or whatever the fuck the last claimed, just bc she didnt actively hurt him. inaction ≠ kindness holy crap how many times must i repeat this

she literally just stalked him everywhere and that was kinda it how was he supposed to fucking know???? she only publicly supported him AFTER EVERYONE ELSE DID AS WELL. that does not help, and you need to stop claiming it did.

she never really seemed to see him as just another kid, who was suffering, and that her "support" could possibly help him at least somewhat. she was perfectly content following him everywhere hiding behind things and using his pain to make herself feel better. about her "inner strength" or whatever you said.

but this, is NARUTO helping HINATA from a young age, and he barely even knows of her existence. hinata never did jack shit for him for. pretty much the first 16 years of his life at least, aka the most tough times for him. but HE, was her main inspiration to "get better" WHICH AGAIN ISNT BAD! but stop claiming she did anything in return! she fucking didnt! where is this kindness you speak of?

also you really shouldnt have brought up sasuke. cmon man. this has gotten rather long oops.... but still. just go read the manga again? watch the show maybe? this is also canon ten times over thyeve said it to each other sooo much. they were rivals because they didnt know how to approach each other with friendship. they were EACH OTHERS goals this was not onsided.

if she was so shy, there were MANY options other than fucking stalking someone in a more unfortunate situation than your privellged self everywhere! this is NOT KINDNESS.

he does not owe her JACK SHIT! just bc she "supported him the longest" whats with this weird trend of loving people is suffering and you must force yourself through it or something? what

and if you wanna claim pain arc is super romantic, w hinata throwing herself in front of naruto to say something, sasuke did that too all the way back in land of the waves 💀💀💀💀💀

except he literally did not have time to think (my body moved on its own), he did not have an entire group of people telling him to not interfere as itd only make things worse, he did not think it over and then do it out of SELF PROCLAIMED SELFISHNESS, his actions here were actually REMEMBERED???????? FOR ONE THING??

"more than sasuke" my ass 😭 naruto was so happy nd shit when sasuke was acknowledging him. he finally had someone who understood his pain and didnt judge him. he had someone to train with and inspire him to get better too. but even in again, the WHOLEASS MOVIE they made for a WHOLEASS MARRIAGE, he still looks so sad with her 😭😭

narutos a nice dude and im sure he'd agree with you on the first part! but just. anyways. i dont know what you thought the point of telling me was? i doubt this will affect your opinion, and youll never change mine, soo. see. internet arguments are useless. you legit cpuldve just scrolled down on my blog anyways if you needed an answer from me that bad

[the-letter-horror-lover]

BORUTO ALTER: Last Shinobi by SongofVedas

Anime » Naruto Rated: T, English, Adventure & Fantasy, Naruto U., Sasuke U., Boruto U., Sarada U., Words: 112k+, Favs: 48, Follows: 49, Published: Dec 2, 2020 Updated: Jul 19

21Chapter 15: THE STRIFE OF THE MIST

BORUTO ALTER

Naruto looked down at his daughter. Himawari's condition had stabilized, and she was healing. However..

Naruto placed his hand on Hima's forehead, goading his chakra into her own network.

I can feel it, Naruto. Sakura was right.

Kurama's voice rumbled within Naruto's head. Naruto was in Himawari's hospital room, but he was also seated on Kurama's snout in an ethereal plane, arms crossed as he furrowed his brows.

"Is there anything we can do, Kurama?" Naruto asked.

Kurama snorted.

Of course not, you fool. This is a separate entity. I'm not sure how it was formed. Perhaps it is a result of The Sage's chakra and our own. Regardless, it's not something we can control.

Naruto focused his attention on Himawari again, pulling his hand back from her forehead as sadness climbed through him.

Was it all for nothing?

"I couldn't keep you safe." Naruto said quietly as tears dripped onto Himawari's hospital blanket.

Kurama's voice bubbled into Naruto's thoughts once more.

You'll disagree.. but this world, its people.. you owe them nothing, Naruto. But her.. that girl.. you owe her everything. That chakra I felt.. It's far worse than mine. She will wake. When she does, you will need to show her how to tame it. If you don't, you'll lose her. Remember the pain you feel now so that doesn't happen.

With that, Kurama closed himself off to Naruto.

Naruto grinned.

Thank you, Kurama.

Naruto placed his hand on Himawari's head once more, before turning and leaving her presence.

As he walked, Kurama's words filled his mind.

I won't fail you again, Hima.

But as Naruto left the hospital and flashed to the Hokage's office, he wasn't so sure of his own promise.

It felt as if the world was falling around him.

Kiba's meeting had gone.. badly, to say the least.

Ultimately, Kiba was stripped of all his responsibilities, keeping his position only as a figurehead within the Inuzuka. Two jonin retainers were assigned to him, and served as Naruto's intermediaries in handling military police affairs.

His information on Shota was more grim.

Naruto remembered how hollow Kiba's voice was then.

"He was five years old during the Great Ninja War. He was the only survivor of his platoon." Kiba had said.

"Five? Why did they allow-"

"He's Inuzuka. And furthermore, a Shinobi, Naruto. You know at that age deployment isn't rare." Kiba replied.

Kiba had locked eyes with Naruto then, voice dim.

Naruto frowned as the recent memory resurfaced.

"He specializes in medical ninjutsu. Even during the war he was one of the best. Everyone in his platoon died. He roamed the battlefield.. fighting and saving those he came across.. until-"

Naruto swallowed.

"The Infinite Dream." He had said softly.

"They say it changed him. He never spoke of what he saw. Not to his friends, the people who trained him. But something always seemed off about him as he grew older. Whatever he went through at that age must have ruined him beyond hope." Kiba replied within Naruto's memory.

Naruto clenched his fist. Shota's crimes were unforgivable. Shota had promised Kiba advances in medical jutsu- instead, he killed a young girl.. a refugee.. and a member of the Chinoike clan. They were thought to be extinct.

Due to her dojutsu, Kiba had kept her safe, but secret. He felt he could somehow use her power to increase the prestige of the Inuzuka.. using military police headquarters as a de-facto laboratory.

Then.. he searched amongst his clan for skilled medical shinobi.. an already rare skill rarer amongst the Inuzuka.

And that is how Shota gained access to the girl.

Naruto shut his eyes as the horrific image Kiba described slithered into his mind.

His ninken.. he has two. A rare trait amongst us.

One of them is large. Wolfish and black. It has a third eye. That's Shitai.

The other one.. is where the girl is.

He somehow fused her body into this ninken. He can control her movements- and by extension, her kekkei genkai. The girl's upper body is stitched to its back, leaning forward from a bed of white fur, arms and all.

That one is Junban.

Chills crept through Naruto's skin.

To think such atrocities were committed within Konoha..

Kiba's one defense of his actions did stay with Naruto.

You pardoned not only Sasuke, But Orochimaru. Sure, he's under guard, but he has full access to his facilities and operations.

Is what I did any different? Is what Shota did more evil than the crimes Orochimaru committed?

Naruto furrowed his brows, planting his head into his hands.

Everything.. is so complex. Everything I do to keep this fragile peace seems to be at a breaking point.

Despite his grim musings, Naruto did find himself smiling at something.

He hadn't seen Boruto more than briefly in a few days.. he was worried, but he knew that Boruto was dealing with Himawari's injuries in his own way. He wanted to give him space.

However, he learned Boruto had actually been training.

Naruto's grin grew bolder.

Boruto's trying to learn the Rasengan. He was able to burst the water balloon in a few minutes!

Konohamaru had reported this earlier.

The pride in Konohamaru's voice then was palpable. Naruto felt it too, finding himself looking at Minato's portrait as he began to open various reports.

You're really a lot like him... Boruto.

It was then Sai burst into Naruto's office. His face seemed paler than-

Naruto stood up as alarm filled his senses.

"O-Orochimaru?!" Naruto raised his arms in defensive surprise as Orochimaru offered nothing more but a hissing laugh. He didn't move from his subservient position beside Sai, but Naruto knew that Orochimaru was brimming with more chakra than ever before.

He's improved his body technique, that's for sure.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as his surprise subsided. Despite Orochimaru's strength, he displayed an almost benign aura, unassuming if you weren't already aware of his notoriety.

"Where's Yamato?" Naruto asked harshly.

Regardless of Orochimaru's claim as an ally, Naruto didn't like the fact he was here without Yamato-

And seemingly without much effort.

Sai grimaced, stepping aside.

"Go on. You said it was a matter of grave importance to the Hokage."

Orochimaru nodded.

Then, he smiled.

"Though I believe you will need to leave the room, Lord Yamanaka. This is also a matter Naruto would

prefer.. kept between us." Orochimaru's light voice crackled with silent derision.

Sai crossed his arms.

"You're here without Yamato, which is already a breach of your terms. If you think I'm going to leave him alone with y-"

Naruto interrupted Sai.

Naruto frowned heavily, glaring at Orochimaru as the man returned a silent grin.

"As much as I hate to say it.. Orochimaru is right, Sai. It's fine. It'll be alright." Naruto offered Sai a smile.

Sai hesitated, then nodded at Naruto. He ignored Orochimaru completely as he left the Hokage's office, closing the door behind him.

Naruto and Orochimaru were silent as Sai's muted footsteps slowly faded away.

"Now talk." Naruto demanded.

"Yes.. our dear Tenno ban'nin project.." Orochimaru's smile grew wider. Naruto rose from

his desk, anger in his eyes as he strode for Orochimaru. Orochimaru remained still, snakelike eyes looking up at Naruto with curious humor.

"Stop playing games, Orochimaru. Tell me what made you come here yourself." Naruto's voice lost its familiar friendliness.

Orochimaru eased into a rasping chuckle.

"Leadership has changed you." He whispered. Before Naruto could reply, Orochimaru continued.

"Shin. He's escaped."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

"Escaped- how!"

"You're the one who ordered me to keep him alive. His successor Koiē was more than sufficient-"

Naruto's gaze darkened.

"Enough, Orochimaru."

"Of course, Lord Hokage." Orochimaru closed his eyes.

"Yes.. Shin.. his sharingan seem to possess a strange ability. One different from what either of us have observed." Orochimaru said.

Naruto furrowed his brow.

"What do you mean?" He asked, tone still direct and harsh.

"The powers of the Mangekyō are embedded within optic nerves connecting to one's brain. It is a manifestation of inner self. Shin.. his body adapts to new genetic stimuli, converting it into his own unique material. The sharingan implanted within Shin developed new abilities independent of their original.. donors." Orochimaru's hair flashed across a pale jaw as he walked to a window, gazing at Konoha imposed underneath his warped reflection.

"I made the mistake of assuming Koiē and Shin would have the same abilities. Koiē is the success, after all. He awakened the Mangekyō first. Shin's prison was tailored towards one built around Koiē's ocular prowess..."

"So Shin awakened the Mangekyō after he was already imprisoned. It gave him an ability that somehow allowed him to escape." Naruto said, more to himself than to Orochimaru.

"I thought activation of the Mangekyō required the murder of a loved one?" Naruto asked, remembering Sasuke's decision long ago- sparing Naruto's life back when they were both nothing but children, both of them victims of a violent world.

Orochimaru turned to Naruto, long black hair almost veiling his geisha-like countenance as it distorted into a smile.

"That is what the Uchiha believe. Yes, he awakened it in captivity. Judging from the injuries of the shinobi I had guarding him.. it seems he can separate organs from his victim's bodies."

Naruto gave Orochimaru a repulsed look.

"Organs?"

Orochimaru nodded.

"Corpses without lungs. Hearts. Eyes. Then there were bodies that had wounds from the inside.. foreign objects that appeared within victims, killing them instantly. Oh..Log is attempting a pursuit. Regardless, for now, the trail has grown rather cold."

Naruto remained silent.

So his Sharingan employs two abilities.. a separate power for each eye, just like Sasuke and Itachi..

"And you have no idea where he is?" Naruto pressed.

Orochimaru shook his head.

"He removed all of my tracking devices- even the ones surgically implanted."

"Do you think he'll come to Konoha?" Naruto asked.

Orochimaru eyed him steely.

"Shin is obsessed with the Uchiha. He adopted their legacy, in a sense. It is possible he may be driven here.. for obvious reasons."

Naruto looked away from Orochimaru then.

That means.. Sasuke and his family are in danger.

Naruto knew he needed to speak to Sasuke immediately. The Tenno ban'nin project had been his idea.. and now it could become his greatest threat.

Shin was described as deranged and broken.. but Naruto could tell that even Orochimaru seemed shocked by Shin's raw power.

Further..

Sasuke is one of the few people I can discuss the Tenno Ban'nin with. We'll have to dictate if the possibility of members going rogue is worth the protection of the tailed beasts themselves..

Naruto shook his head.

Something seemed to be coming, stirring in the shadows.

You were right, Sasuke. Right now, the village isn't strong enough to face whatever is building.

THE BANDAGES AROUND his neck and mouth were wet with rain, sweat, and spit. The shinobi ran ahead, his sandals just barely dipping underneath water as chakra kept him afloat. The sword he carried was heavy across his back, while dark eyes stared ahead, attempting to see beyond the mist that extended beyond.

His name is Reizei Momochi. Scion of the Momochi clan, and one of the few remaining allies of Chōjūrō's government. Reizei had been assigned to the northern districts of Kirigakure, working as a scout for Shizune, who he knew as Tsunade's attendant.

But now..

He saw again within his mind the man that killed Shizune, killed everyone. He was young, possibly the same age as Reizei himself. Shizune's murderer was thin, with slicked back blonde hair while two thin bangs fell over his round eyes.

Reizei knew that there was no point in attacking the man now.. especially that Shizune's fortified position was lost. He had to get back to Kiri proper and report what had happened. They already needed reinforcements- but with the loss of Shizune and her entire militia, all of Kirigakure was open to attack.

By now, Chōjūrō and the fifth Mizukage should have returned from the western reaches.. where they had been desperately entreating local clans for allies. Reizei hoped their efforts were successful, however he knew that Chōjūrō was an unpopular Kage for many Kiri clans.

He was seen as too modernist, a trend stated by his predecessor, Mei. His friendship with Konoha was also questioned.. all of this exploding into conflict when Chōjūrō signed away land that had traditionally belonged to the Hoshigaki clan.. and gave it to Tsunade for her joint medical project.

For many clans their position in the civil war was based not even on animosity towards Konoha, but rather their own desire to carve out pieces of Kirigakure for themselves.

Reizei himself didn't care for Konoha nor their shinobi. He simply followed the words of his clan head and only surviving family member, Shōen Momochi.

His grandmother had given him everything- his life. Even his name. She was the one that dictated their allegiance, and despite his own feelings, he knew he had a responsibility not only to her, but to the Momochi line.

Reizei still traversed over water, fog clinging to the air around him.

I need to hurry. Nagayasu isn't going to waste any time to enforce his new position. If I can't get back-

"We've been trailing you for some time."

Reizei stopped, gripping the hilt of his split claymore with one hand as he formed a jutsu sign with the other.

I figured someone was watching me. That's why I kept to the lakes as opposed to trying to hide in the forests. I'd rather fight multiple opponents out in the open.

Before long, three silhouettes casually emerged before Reizei, circling him. They were Kiri rogue nin, each of them armed with wicked looking blades.

"Ah, Reizei Momochi. It's funny.. I recognize that blade more than I do you." The lead Kiri nin said with a smirk.

"Momochi? I thought they were all dead." One of the others said with an incredulous chuckle.

Their leader gave Reizei a wicked smile.

"Almost. They were dying out when Zabuza was alive. Now.. it's just him. The last vestige of a savage band of warrior monks."

The renege kiri nin circled closer.

Their leader spoke once more as the fog seemed to thicken.

"We know where you're heading. I'll give you one opportunity to run. Only if you leave behind your sword, of course."

Reizei remained silent. He slouched forward, leaning the blunt edge of his claymore across his shoulders.

The kiri nin all laughed.

"We prefer it like this any-"

Reizei's afterimage fluttered behind the rogue ninja's back as he was mid sentence. Reizei turned, flourishing his sword as the rogue nin's head flew in the air before falling into the water.

The surviving rogue nin exchanged concerned glances- before charging.

Reizei spun on the heels of his sandals. The two nin were close-

I'm not going to have enough time to swing my sword!

Reizei dropped his blade, allowing it to be swallowed up by the lake below them.

The rogue nin seemed emboldened by this. The two swapped between Reizei's left and right flanks, switching sides as they advanced.

Reizei leaned backwards as one of them feinted for his right but attacked his left, blade passing a bandaged neck harmlessly.

Reizei grabbed the man's arm as he struck, pulling him into the falling sword of his companion who had attacked at the same time. The rogue nin screamed aloud in fear as he accidentally gutted his remaining ally.

As the corpses fell into the water, rising blood stained small, dark pools amongst them.

Reizei's eyes leveled on the last rogue nin. He backed away.. before breaking into a run.

You're not getting away!

Reizei curled both hands into a jutsu sign.

Chakra moved the water.. and blood below Reizei, funneling into the mouth of a dragon before shooting ahead, spearing the rogue nin through the back with a piercing echo.

As the man died, Reizei lifted his hand, and in seconds his sword leapt through rippling water, turning blade over hilt until Reizei caught it. The blades weight caused him to spin backwards-

Revealing yet another enemy.

Reizei's eyes widened in equal parts dread and surprise.

It wasn't just any rogue kiri nin.

He had a young face, pale though his skin seemed to glow with a slight bluish hue. Piercing blue pupils stared at Reizei underneath the curve of hooded eyelids. He wore the standard Kirigakure military attire of a jonin, complete with a Kiri headband. He was tall, broad, with dark long hair that swam down to his jaw.

"Shizuma.. Hoshigaki!" Reizei finally said aloud.

Shizuma was silent. He stepped forward, seemingly unarmed.

"I wanted to see what power they had to offer my father." Shizuma said simply.

They..? The rogue nin? No. That man who attacked us and killed Shizune! He must have done it to curry favor with Nagayasu!

"You are of the Momochi clan, yes? I can tell by your dressings. And that sword.. the Double Guillotine blade.." Shizuma's voice seemed to grow louder as he inched closer.

"My father was disappointed that Shoēn decided to work against us. Despite his.. demeanor, he still respects your clan, as do I."

Shizuma extended his arm outwards.

He opened his hand as a massive katana slowly inched itself upwards from the water below. The katana was curved, ornate with ceremonial designs as small ringing bells shook with Shizuma's slight movement, tied to the edge of the blade.

"This sword is called Melody of the Cutting Wave. My father will be pleased it drank the blood of a Momochi. Perhaps your clan will live on within its steel."

Reizei's ears began ringing-

He felt a presence behind him.

Reizei turned, gripping his sword above his head as Shizuma's blade crossed it, attempting to slash open Reizei's back.

Reizei leaned forward-

Horrific pain filled his senses. He suddenly couldn't see out of his right eye.

Reizei ignored the pain, adjusting his hold on his sword before knifing it upwards as he turned around. Shizuma leapt backward- then vanished.

Reizei breathed haggardly as the pain continued to work through his body. He still couldn't see out of his right eye.

I haven't been wounded.. What is this? A genjutsu?

The sound of Shizuma's bells could be heard chiming softly over the whisper of water.

Suddenly the edge of Shizuma's sword erupted from above. Reizei leapt backward as the length of the blade cut downwards, splitting water in two-

Reizei felt the point of a sword puncture through his leg at the knee. He gasped, pulling himself free of Shizuma's katana as blood spilled from his wound.

How did he-

"The sounds of wave cutting can be anywhere. They can be anything." Shizuma called out from afar.

It was then Reizei felt the edge of Shizuma's blade at his neck.

He came from my blind spot! But I should've been able to sense him!

"This is the end, scion of the Momochi." Shizuma's voice was almost sad.

Another presence suddenly exploded Reizei's senses. A shadow passed over them-

Shizuma's blade immediately vanished from Reizei's neck. The pain Reizei felt disappeared too- and his vision returned.

"You don't know me, but I'm here to help. I'm assuming the north fell if you're here." A kind, almost humored voice greeted Reizei, coming from a man with long white hair and a mask covering his lower jaw.

He wore a green flak jacket, and on his forehead a konoha headband was found.

Reizei winced as he attempted to stand on his wounded leg.

"Who.. who are you?" Reizei began, though he was sure he already knew the answer.

Despite this, the man smiled underneath his mask as he produced a kunai.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake."

NEXT TIME: KAKASHI VS SHIZUMA!

[mahou-no-momo]

Fam, the way Sakura stans be talking about how Sasuke treats Sakura is soooo bad and everyone excuses it because ✨ misogyny ✨ and stuff she did as a child. Uhhh no, we're being critical of everything she has done over the course of the series as well as Boruto. No one is completely excusing any of his behavior and tbh outside of tumblr most people hate Sasuke for asinine ass reasons and are in favor of Sakura during discussions even if they do hate her.

And as far as I'm concerned I'm indifferent to most of the female characters because they could be written better overall. Tsunade and Konan are the only two I really felt like had some somewhat consistent effort put into them before kinda fizzling out for the other male characters towards the end. But that's neither here nor there.

Sasuke does not owe Sakura love or affection just because she confessed her obsession to him several times and becomes all subservient when he's around. He also doesn't have to be nice to her for any reason. Hell, he was hardly nice to anyone outright so let's not pretend this was some concentrated effort on his part to cause her harm when most of the time he tried to ignore her, and she would get all up in his damn face when he wanted to be left alone. Clearly. If we're still on about the "hE tRiEd To KilL hEr". She tried to kill him first. Shit wasn't abuse, they weren't friends or lovers at that point in time. What abuse? As far as he was concerned, she was someone he once knew that had become an enemy and attempted to attack him. But because she couldn't go through with it he should've not protected himself? In a world that treat shinobi they're easily thrown away when no longer of any use? Bye.

People don't dislike her or her relationship to Sasuke because ✨ misogyny ✨~ they dislike her because she did shit like running into battle without a plan because she wanted Sasuke's attention. Meanwhile she became an inconvenience and nearly got herself killed. She had been a shinobi just as long as they have, was top of her class at the academy, same as Sasuke, and yet did some dumb shit like that. For his acknowledgement. I'd call her ass useless to her face too. They were in the middle of a damn war. A near world ending war. They dislike her because during the Forest of Death she was calling Sasuke a coward for hiding from enemy shinobi, who were much stronger and more experienced than them, meanwhile he had to again, save her ass. You can say "sHe WaS a ChiLd" all day long but her actions have been relatively consistent. She's selfish and immature even into adulthood. Using her childhood behavior to show that consistency isn't ✨ misogyny ✨

[sneezemonster15]

Sorry for my bad English. Now I realized Hinata never believed in Naruto (worrying about him does not mean believing). In the battle with Nagato she didn’t even try to save Naruto. Naruto always remembered Sasuke’s/Iruka’s sacrifice but not her. I think it makes sense because Kishi was attentive to such things. Do you think Hinata believed in Naruto?

Hi.

Did Hinata believe in Naruto?

I don't think she works that way. Her motivation, both in parts one and two, was to try and snag Naruto's attention by whichever means she could come up with, usually costing her quite a bit, given she isn't a very smart person. Which makes sense, an heiress isn't she, very privileged and protected, with slaves at her disposal who have curse marks on their foreheads? Lol.

In Pein arc, she went against everyone's advice, ignored the fact that Naruto himself didn't want anyone to intervene, because he was psyched and prepared to fight Nagato. Others were also trying their best, in the most strategic and rational way possible, to handle Pein's attack on Konoha, given they are shinobis and this is what they are trained to do. And yet, Hinata's way of 'helping' Naruto only made things worse for everyone, including her own friends and family, everyone in Konoha. I have talked about it here in detail. I mean just the buildup that Kishi gives Hinata in this arc, in these few chapters, raises readers' expectations, all for 👎 (raspberry sound).

Thing is Kishi didn't have to draw so many of these panels with so much insistence, over and over again unless he wanted the fact to be comprehensive that Hinata's 'rescuing' Naruto was really a way for her to confess to him, tell him of her feelings. All through the manga before, wherever we have seen her being relevant, which aren't many places, she has been shown to be very insecure and underconfident, and eventually she gets inspired by Naruto, the protag, to be more courageous and forthright. Now since Naruto is the MC of a shounen manga, he will be obviously shown as the saviour, the ideal, the one who inspires everyone, one who protects everyone, one who would influence a given character's life in a way that would resolve that character's conflict, which has already been established before by the author, and hence make the character owe something to Naruto. Like Tazuna and Inari, both of whom had their own conflicts, which got resolved by Naruto hence resolving their individual arc and both of them got inspired. So they named the bridge after him and both came to help out when Konoha is destroyed. Neji, who learns that one builds their own destiny and he is thankful to Naruto, especially because Naruto invests in his dream. So he fights the sound four for Naruto's sake.....and then dies later, but not gonna go there 😒. Nagato, who after learning of Naruto's thoughts about war and peace brings a dead Konoha back to life. Or Obito, who after repenting and receiving Naruto's forgiveness, helps them win the war. Or Shikamaru or Gaara. Likewise, Hinata is also inspired by the hero. There's nothing special about that, she is like other characters in that regard.

Thing is, for all these characters, the resolution to their conflict is clear and positively portrayed. Some fans might not approve of it, but in the manga narrative itself, the resolution of their arc is portrayed with positive tones. Not Hinata's though, lol.

Plus all of these characters except Hinata are clearly portrayed to have affected Naruto in a positive manner and Kishi even makes Naruto acknowledge their feelings or sentiments. Not Hinata's. Kishi deliberately builds the whole narrative of Hinata 'saving' Naruto like she is going to do something awesome, something successful. Perhaps she would be the chakra sensing shinobi that Kishi establishes so deliberately, but nope. Kishi goes a long distance to subvert the trope of 'saving the hero' to prove that Hinata's motivations aren't coming from love as much as infatuation, hero worship and selfishness. The last of which he even makes her say out loud. If you really pay attention to the narrative and visuals, you can't help but see that Kishi very systematically subverted the whole trope of 'saving'. Not only he gave the readers false expectations as to what was going to happen further in the plot, he made Naruto to not even look at Hinata after it happened. No acknowledgement whatsoever. This is such a deliberate choice, I wonder why so many people don't see it. Where have you ever seen this 'saving the hero' trope where a supporting character tries to save the hero, usually a family member, a close friend or a love interest, and the hero doesn't acknowledge them, like ever? Doesn't look at them, doesn't talk, doesn't thank them, no response whatsoever. Instead, Kishi shows Sakura hugging Naruto in front of Hinata, after having established the fact that Sakura has realized Hinata loves Naruto. Lol. The nerve of that troll man. Giggles.

Anyway, the hero acknowledging the saviour is such an important part of this trope's resolution, but Kishi subverts it by not satisfying the reader's expectations because in reality, this scene is not about Naruto and Hinata, it's about Naruto realising what it means to lose people one cares for, so that he could finally understand what Sasuke went through.

But it's not like Kishi doesn't make Naruto pay his regards where regards are due. Naruto does realize who his saviour actually was. Minato. So he credits Minato to have saved him in front of Kakashi and Yamato. Hinata is not even mentioned. Lol.

Which is why, you are right. Naruto remembers Iruka's sacrifice and Sasuke's, but not a single word for Hinata. Iruka and Sasuke both fought for Naruto/defended him when he was still an unskilled, loser Naruto. Hinata never did, she only stalked him. And when she did sacrifice herself, it was obviously for selfish reasons, unlike Iruka and Sasuke, whose motivations truly had to do with Naruto's safety.

And very much yes, authors pay attention to such things. All part of characterisation and plotting.

If Hinata really trusted Naruto's words (that he doesn't want anyone to intervene), she would have kept sitting with her injured slave looking after him, and would have tried to find out other ways to help Naruto, ways which would have potentially worked (like the chakra sensing shinobi way that Kishi emphasizes upon in the same chapter called Hinata's confession), not what she did which she probably knew wouldn't have a chance at working, she had already witnessed what Pein was capable of. She would have listened to others, much more experienced and battle savvy, who chose to trust Naruto's abilities.

She was specifically told that she would only create more problems for Naruto, but she chose to interfere anyway because all she wanted was to confess to Naruto before he died or she did. The act of confession itself isn't wrong, but like there's a time and a place lol. The way Kishi wrote her and that whole scene, he made Hinata look pathetic, one dimensional, kind of a loser, very stupid, quite unlike a shinobi, and selfish. It was not a positive portrayal of a resolution at all, unlike the cases of Neji, Inari, Tazuna, Nagato etc. While after reading about Naruto's encounters with these characters and their eventual resolution of their conflicts, the readers feel pleasant and satisfied, Hinata's sacrifice leaves a sour taste in the mouth. Even casual audiences notice this. All credits to Kishi of course. Lol.

Kishi is a smart writer. And he is like a bulldog. So resolute. He seriously goes a long way to show both Hinata and Sakura down, like imagine, over 15 years of commitment (and still going on in Boruto) of throwing shade at them, demeaning or insulting them, subverting their character tropes with complex, layered writing written with subtle literary tools that most people in this target audience aren't aware of or familiar with which really makes him get away with a lot of naughty stuff. Hehehe.

[my-inner-crisis]

Sometimes you watch a tik tok that enrages you to the point where you want to rant for an hour. So this is it (probably not an hour-length read mind you but ya know).

Two very popular arguments on the clock app have my blood boiling.

1. Where did Lucien’s ACOTAR personality go in the rest of the series?

Oh, I don’t know, let me see. He began the series in relative peace, only having to deal with Tamlin’s ass, which was honestly his least serious problem. Remember how his brothers and father executed his lover brutally and then tried to kill him? He owes Tamlin his life, so you know. In the very beginning of ACOTAR, first thing that happens to Lucien is that his friend, Andras, is murdered in cold blood and SKINNED. Not only does he die, but he’s skinned. After that it’s just downhill for my boy Lulu from there. He is taken under the mountain, tortured to break Feyre’s spirits, UTM is a particularly triggering place to him since he had his eye carved out of his head like 50 years ago, he was so severely beaten and his face was in such a state, it MADE TAMLIN VOMIT. So, he goes back UTM, his mind is held by Rhys like a toy, he’s whipped by Tamlin under Amarantha’s rule, he’s punished for helping Feyre, yet he still goes to help her again. He’s severely abused physically. Good good. Then he comes out of that situation just to find himself in the worst PTSD hours not only for himself, but for Tamlin AND Feyre. He’s caught in the middle, any push he tries to achieve with Tamlin backfires horribly. The High Lord with the power of brute strength hits him. Feyre is scheming and he is aware of it, he gets dragged between the two of them, he isn’t sure what Feyre is up to and tries to go rescue her. He thinks her mind is warped by Rhys who lied so much to him and everyone, Lucien certainly couldn’t guess he was good actually. Feyre leaves Tamlin and messes up the Spring Court in the process, leaving the High Lord to be a useless depression monster, the direct result of that being that he is sexually assaulted by Ianthe. Tamlin has 2 brain cells so of course Hybern double crosses him, which leads directly to Feyre’s sisters being turned fae. Keep in mind that Lucien had no power over Tamlin at any point, you think he’d let himself get dragged into dumb deals with Hybern? Of course not. But now his mate thinks him culpable in her Making, she loses the one she loves due to this and it’s obviously directed to Lucien too, she never asked for a mate, she was happy to marry Graysen, so now Lulu is here courtless (oh no), homeless (so sad), with a mate (yay) who doesn’t want him (noooo) so maybe, MAYBE he is depressed. He finds friends with some sad little humans who also have sad lives like a queen without a throne and a man whose people have been dead for 500 years and the human lands is nothing like it used to be. Lucien is so far away from happiness or even just like a normal, simple day, it’s funny. And we’re surprised he’s not the snarky little rake he was in ACOTAR? Just READ.

2. Elain clearly doesn’t want Lucien and clearly wants Azriel, this is a crack ship

All I have to say to this is the following:

We don’t know what Elain wants, we don’t know why she does whatever she does, we don’t know her motivations and we don’t know how she feels about Lucien. All we know is that she’s reluctant to speak to him and she opposes the idea of mates. It’s fiction, it can go anywhere. SJM could kill half of the characters on one page. Stop arguing with Eluciens (or anyone else) about their ship’s validity. Let me have my cottagecore fantasy with them and maybe you’ll be right, but I can still ship it, even if it doesn’t become canon. It doesn’t have to be correct to be a ship. I used to ship Sasuke with Gaara because they interacted twice and my 14 year old brain was like yes. Just leave people be, let us enjoy our ships 😌

[sasukesun]

It’s so... annoying to me how Kakashi gets on Sasuke like he does for not caring about his former comrades when Kakashi also abandoned Sasuke and was willing to kill him despite understanding how he was victimized. The hypocrisy. Sasuke has to care about them but who cares if Sakura and Kakashi were willing to kill him first without even trying to listen?

EXACTLY!!! kakashi is such a hypocrite. why would sasuke have to care about kakashi and sakura anyway if he wasn’t in team 7 anymore? he had no obligations to them, he doesn’t owe them anything. in their heads sasuke has to pay them back because they “cared” about him because of their “efforts” and “dedication” to him, even though the moment sasuke was basically screaming for help kakashi decided to play orphan olympics and sakura clearly showing her caring goes as far as sasuke reciprocating her feelings, she cares about her make believe fantasy, but not actually about sasuke himself

[pussymagnetmadara]

Sasuke + Sakura, please no.

Honestly, we are in 2022, Naruto the manga is not from yesterday, you clearly have time to read it again and again, how can people still tell me that SS makes sense in the entire work? Even though very often we recognize you pro SS, basically you accept this ship because your princess Sakura deserves Sasuke for everything she was forced to go through because of him... don't you realize that even that is incredibly toxic? So if you make someone "suffer" who has never asked for your opinion or involvement in their stories, and you suffer indirectly, then they owe you an eternal gratitude? No, I'm sorry, but no. Sasuke never owed Sakura anything from the beginning. Sakura's so-called feelings of love for Sasuke do not justify her involvement in Sasuke's life and ending up married to her and fathering her child. If we got this in final canon it's because of your incessant complaining to Kishimoto who never did your OTP justice. This ship is lame and flat as ever. Free to you to still send it but think before you insult other ships on Naruto as delusional people, because it is you that we should laugh at the most. You guys don't appreciate the background of the story, you just came for the so called love story that Sasuke owed to Sakura, for you nothing else matters, don't forget that Naruto is not a shōjo.

I've heard so much about it and to see you trying to defend your ship is so laughable because the manga serves you only one panel in the whole work and still... yes I'm talking about this particular scene.. 

and still nothing is provable in there. I remind you that Naruto and Sasuke had many visual exchanges much more intense than this one and the pro SNS hardly talk about it and I'm not a pro SNS at all for several reasons. Last time someone came to me claiming that he had written a story that traced and explained the love story of SasuSaku, but seriously, do you really believe that this is fan fiction, that you are writing in self-insert mode that does justice to your ship and that we will all wake up and finally believe it? No one else is doing this kind of thing but you. The canon material is so flat on your side that you have to insist on telling us about Sasuke Restuden, which I repeat here, is not canon. It's a fanfiction written by Jun Esaka, who said it herself on her twitter that Kishimoto remains the only official author of Naruto, he just drew the cover of your pro SS bible. This great joke cost me a choke with my morning coffee. Stop coming to us to harass and insult us because we don't understand your famous OTP which in your eyes makes sense because in the reality of the rest of the world, it doesn't.

But in the category that makes me most hysterical is the pro SS/SNS/Sakura who come to Sasuke to tear him down to make a fool of him, but why do you do that? If you don't like Sasuke, fine, free to you, but don't send your favorite character with another one you hate, it becomes ridiculous.

Here is a small list of canon elements that would have made more sense than SasuSaku:

SNS: I don’t like them as an OTP but they could have make sense.

Sasuke and Naruto call each other "the only one" friend or significant other?  as you wish, Kishimoto remains vague about this.

Karin Uzumaki: I do like them but I’m proud Karin has matured enough to move on.

Sasuke referred to her as the most powerful kunoichi he knew.

He developed a new sharingan power to save her from the immortal black flames of Amaterasu.

My own mother gave me a revelation that immediately reminded me of a scene from SS. The famous scene where Sasuke justifies his so-called relationship with Sakura. Indeed, the only link between Sasuke and Sakura today remains their daughter Sarada.

I explain myself here, my own parents, having never been a really harmonious couple, far from there and since their divorce proceedings, my mother said to me and I quote "For me, he remains only the father of my children, and that's all, it's the only thing that links us".

Exactly what Sasuke said about Sakura to Sarada because yes indeed, nothing binds them, nothing makes sense in their story except their daughter. Sasuke could have delivered more information, or could have told something else about their story and told Sarada that he married Sakura because he loves her and she is the fruit of their love but no, he remained very concise because there is nothing to say about them.

[cuteconsortboys]

How would the naruto boys react to the empress missing the birth of their child bc of her other commitments and duties? And all the empress can do is send someone else to give them her regards, because i think something like that would be inevitable and i think it'd be interesting to see their reactions

*gasp* How did you know I had a WIP about this?? Magic!

But yes, you're right, I think the Empress could probably prioritise being at her child's birth if there is a chance the baby could be the heir. I think people would be understanding about that. So, she definitely made it to all the births before she had a girl.

However, important guests would probably be offended if the Empress left them alone or cancelled something because she wanted to be present for her seventh child's birth. It would be too risky to offend people with that.

...

Naruto: He understands. He is a little sad, he wanted you to be there, but he grew up in the palace, he knows that it's not personal. It helps that Naruto is not nervous at all lol. But he expects you to be there as soon as you can okay!!!

Sasuke: He's seriously bitter about it when you tell him that you can't come and see him because you're entertaining some important guests. He gets very cold and then refuses to speak to you or hear you out. He has the baby with his brother supporting him. And then he gets help from the nannies while he recovers. He doesn't let the Empress near him for three weeks. He feels really betrayed.

Shino: He panics. When he hears through a third party that you're not going to be there, he freaks out. It's stressful for everyone and it's very out of character. Sure, at first he tries to put on a brave face, but it really doesn't last long. He begs someone to go and get you, he even thinks about just refusing to push until you arrive, but he realises ow stupid that is. He thinks about threatening it though. He probably won't go and find you himself, but he begs other people to do it. I imagine that Shino sent word to his father when he went into labour, so if his father gets there quickly, I reckon Shino calms down a little and gives birth with the support of his father. If his father can't reach him in time for whatever reason, he gets one of the more ballsy consorts to talk to you and get you to pretend there's an emergency. Shino, in full hysterics, threatens to never forgive you if you don't come and help him. You probably have to feign a different emergency to your guests and go to him.

Shikamaru: He gets it. "Yeah, yeah, I figured," he sighs, resigning himself to doing this alone. He just has the doctors there. He probably would have benefited from having his father around, but he didn't think he'd need him, and then was a bit too proud to call for him. He knew this was a risk going into it.

Neji: Neji's salty but not surprised. He's not high risk in this world, so he knows you have no excuse to stay with him seeing as you already have an heir. Doesn't mean he can't be grumpy about it though. Especially because he doesn't really want anyone around him apart from you. He doesn't have any family that he trusts, and he doesn't want the other consorts around... He holds out hope the entire time that you might be finished early and show up to support him. He's sad if you don't, but his focus shifts onto the new baby very quickly and he puts your absence out of his mind.

Itachi: Itachi is very, very sad. He won't say anything, but it's very obvious to anyone who sees him. He never asked you to be there for him, he knew it wasn't his place, but he hoped and hoped for his entire pregnancy. He wants support but... Is it bad that he doesn't really want Sasuke there? And he also doesn't really want other consorts there... He wishes he had a close big family to support him. He does cry a few times but he just says it's because it hurts. When the baby is out, he asks someone to go and get your permission for him to stay in your room while he recovers, a rotation of nannies coming to support him. He just feels safer there, and if you're still in the palace but just busy, it raises his chances of seeing you sooner as you might not have time to come to the harem. So, he moves the crib and the baby into your room. But! Imagine coming into your room, exhausted from working for days, planning to just roll into bed, and there's Itachi dozing in your bed,

Iruka: He's more sad that you won't get to see your child being born, than that you won't be here for him. He's angry at the world and the culture that's forcing you to be away from this special moment, but he's not angry at you. He feels like you're both victims of a bad situation. His doctors are more nervous, because Iruka's temper is legendary and you're not there to mediate lol. If he's feeling okay after the birth, and you're still busy, he might go and wait by the nearest bathroom to where your meetings are, so he can let you meet your newest child.

Gaara: It is custom in Suna that women be banned from delivery rooms while men are giving birth, so he always subconsciously prepared himself for this scenario anyway. Yeah, maybe he got his hopes up a bit watching you be there for some other births, but he can deal with it. As is custom in his country, he had his brother staying at the palace for a month around his due date so he could be there to support him. Kankuro is lowkey very grossed out and uncomfortable the whole time but he supports Gaara anyway, while wincing though lol.

[kankuroplease]

Tattoo Au Sasuke headcanons?

Admittedly, he only took Kakashi up on the offer of being his apprentice because he was injured and Kakashi let him hide out there until Itachi and Shisui showed up for him.

The idea of him doing something not Yakuza related never crossed his mind until that moment. Family is everything and this is what his does.

He didn’t even know this was the same guy Naruto was always talking about in class like an idiot.

It just felt like he owed him something for covering for his ass. So once he was healed enough, he limped back into Kakashi’s shop

He had a major learning curve, but once he locked in on the techniques, he started doing better in his apprenticeship and the rest is history

He camps out in many places outside of his own apartment when he’s injured. This is because of Naruto’s naïveté. He really thinks Sasuke’s dad is just a business man and Sasuke letting him believe that fantasy of his. Makes the world a little less dark 💀

In fact, he asked Naruto and Sakura to move in with him after they graduated high school because their optimism was somewhat infectious.

Watching them act like children over video games and having random drunk nights before they crowd his room to tell the lamest ghost stories is heartwarming. Won’t tell them this

Heartbroken when felt Sakura and himself drifting apart. He let things end with the belief that if they’re meant to be, they’ll come back together. If not, he’ll still always be wishing her well.

Appreciates that she tried to cheer him up with the bird feeder thing but hasn’t told her he was leaving gifts for the crows and training them, that’s why they have so many now.

Doesn’t appreciate her poking her nose in business that can get her killed and keeps the place clean of his family business for that very reason.

Knows both Naruto and Sakura go in his room for various reasons even when they’ve been told not to and has a list of punishments waiting for when he finds a blonde or pink hair in his freakishly neat room.

Has a pet cat he raised from a kitten. It’s a stray he picked up after a job and nursed it back to health

He always buys fresh cat food and toys for it when he can.

Can’t pass it without giving it scratches

Hasn’t named it much to Naruto and Sakura’s dismay. Just calls it ‘cat’

Hates going to Itachi’s night clubs because there’s always a lot of unwanted attention on him.

Annoyed that Naruto’s sister has been showing up at these clubs and making a scene. He’ll yank her off stage and march her straight out the club by the arm and calls Sakura to come and get her. She’s lucky he doesn’t call her mother and half of his tempted to do it.

Very lucky he doesn’t feel like popping Naruto daydream bubble and telling him why she shouldn’t be at these clubs

He was shocked the first time he learned about Kakashi’s relationship. A threesome is one thing, he can even picture him in a vee. but a triad? KAKASHI? Guess that’s why he’s so tired all the time.

Especially because Obito is one of his partners. He didn’t get to work with Obito but he’s met him at meetings, and that was.. a lot.

Knew that first kkobirin baby was Obito’s from a quick glance when Kakashi brought her to the shop the first time. He just didn’t say anything because that’s not his business and Kakashi didn’t seem to care either way.

Also knows “hot biker” guy Yamato’s been seeing/keeping a secret from the shop is named Genma. Ran a full background check, he’s an alright guy. But again, he’s not going to tell anyone Yam’s business. If he wants to share his private life with the shop, he will.

Didn’t want to share hid space with Sai at first because he’s bad at “playing nice” with new people.

They actually ended up bonding over their shared awkwardness with new people, constantly having clients mix them up, and Sai’s quick wits but lack of awareness being amusing to Sasuke.

He’s not as talkative to his clients as the others are. They can talk all they want but they’re lucky if they get more than a grunt in response.

If he’s not doing tattoos, he’s over seeing the work of his subordinates.

Keeps his opinions to himself over the possible future boss of the Uchiha. Of course he thinks Itachi can do it, but so can Shisui. Also there’s no way Madara is being dethroned anytime soon.

Gets scolded by Tsunade frequently for popping stitches and coming to her to fix it. What happened to his med school roommate? She should be able to handle a few stitches by now. Ah, don’t want to worry her? Stop reopening your wounds 😤

Gets scolded by Hinata for not buttoning his shirt all the way up and showing his tattoos. Does he want everyone to know what he does and who he is.

Nvm he’s an Uchiha. They are very proud, have a lot of territory, control law enforcement and politicians. He doesn’t have to hide.

Shisui, Sasuke, and Hinata do go to a lot of the same events a lot as representatives and that how he knows about Hinata’s prospective fiancé. The guys try not to laugh when Hinata walks away or while Toneri is trying to impress her.

Of course it’s amusing when it’s not him, but when the hoards of singles at these events flock him, it’s a different story

Likes setting by the beach and watching the sunset when he wants to be alone.

Has dinner with Itachi every Saturday. It’s a small tradition they have and Sasuke’s always looking forward Itachi’s latest recipe and throwing knives afterwards. They talk about nothing and everything all at once 🖤