Merry Christmas
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The Land of Grass was a battlefield, in a terrible state. The country served as the battleground for the bigger powers, the Land of Fire, with Konoha Shinobi, and the Land of Earth, with the Iwagakure Shinobi. It had been going on for a year already and had taken its toll on the poor citizens of the Land of Grass, not that anyone cared.
Smoke rose from the ground, rising from burnt trees and shattered stone. The air tasted of iron, smoke, and both soggy and dry soil used for various jutsu. Somewhere in the distance, explosions rumbled, as they always did. Earth Style jutsus terraforming the landscapes, fire jutsus burning anything flammable.
On one side lay the Konoha camp. It was led by the Uchiha Clan and consisted mainly of Uchiha shinobi. But there were a lot of civilian-born shinobi who didn't belong to any clans. They were the true heroes of the wars, or the true losers, as they were used as cannon fodder. No clan was willing to see their members die.
The camp, which had been hastily reinforced and had to be constantly resupplied and repositioned, was in a sombre mood. Medical ninja worked frantically, their hands glowing green as wounded shinobi screamed or went silent. Uchiha crests adorned many of the flak jackets here, and red-and-white fans were seen everywhere, as were their trademark red eyes.
Fugaku Uchiha, the Patriarch of the Uchiha Clan, moved through the camp, his Sharingan spinning as it tracked threats, progress and the shinobi around him faster than any ordinary eye could. He had a cold expression on his face, revealing nothing. His commands were sharp and final, but he was willing to listen to his advisors. Unlike the other fronts, Fugaku understood that this war and his position in it were unlike any other. The outcome of their side of the war could potentially change the political landscape in Konoha for the Uchiha Clan. And that was something they desperately needed.
He looked behind him. There, a bit too close, but also too far for any battlefield action, stood a small boy. He wanted to smile when he saw him, to express his pride, but he couldn't. Not today. Not right now.
The child was silent, too silent ever since they arrived at the front. Fugaku had thought it smart to bring him here, to show him what it meant to wage war, to understand his position and role in the Uchiha Clan and the village.
His dark eyes were wide, reflecting both flames and death. He clutched the hem of his father's cloak with small, trembling fingers. Every scream which sounded not so far away seemed to cut into him. Everybody who fell carved itself into his memory.
Fugaku glanced down only once, briefly, as if assuring himself that his son was still there. Still alive and conscious. Sadly, he couldn't quite stay and achieve what he wanted, as the battlefield demanded him again.
"Stay here, Itachi," he said, voice low but firm. "Do not move. No matter what."
Itachi looked at his father with a conflicted expression and nodded. Before Fugaku could leave, however, the earth split.
A massive series of stone spears erupted from beneath the ground, shattering Konoha's front formation. Shinobi were flung aside and impaled like dolls. Dust swallowed the air, blinding everyone. Everyone, except the Uchiha's, that is. Out of the dust cloud emerged Iwa-nin. They looked furious and filled with bloodlust, ready to kill everyone and anyone.
Fugaku acted right away, his Sharingan filled with massive chakra, just in time to block the first blow. The impact cracked the ground beneath his feet, but he was ready. A second strike followed, heavier, a short sword was swung through the air, but was blocked by one of Fugaku's kunai.
"Father!" Itachi shouted.
His voice was lost amid the shouting and racket of the fight. Fugaku twisted mid-air and used a slight genjutsu on the Iwa-nin. Then he pushed himself off the ground and stabbed the ninja in the throat, killing him on the spot. But before he could look after Itachi, he was sworn at again and forced to defend himself.
For the first time, Fugaku felt it. Danger. Real danger. Not the danger of dying, but the threat of losing his son. And that was far worse.
.
Itachi, on the other hand, felt the threat of death for the first time. He was only four years old after all, and had grown up in Konoha, one of, if not the most, wealthy and safe hidden villages in the world.
He tried to call out to his father, but he was lost in the chaos almost immediately. He dodged several shuriken out of pure instinct and tried to hide somewhere, hoping his father would find him. He picked up a broken sword from the ground, and somehow, he didn't understand how, but managed to stab a shinobi.
He saw the life leave the man's body and his eyes turn dark. He couldn't move, and, unknowingly to him, the traumatic experience unlocked the power of the Uchiha Clan within him. At merely four years old, Itachi unlocked the Sharingan.
With the new dynamic vision, Itachi saw a roaring Iwa-nin attack him.
Then... the world shifted, not through an explosion or a jutsu. But a whisper.
"Time Cutter."
The Iwa shinobi froze, his eyes widened. Itachi didn't understand what he saw, but something unseen cut through the space between heartbeats. In one moment, the shinobi were frozen, and in the other, thin lines appeared on their bodies. Their armour and bodies split cleanly into several clean-cut pieces. Physics remembered its job and caused blood to follow a moment later, spraying in thick arcs before their bodies fell apart.
Itachi turned around and saw an Uchiha standing there. The eyes were unmistakable, as were the flak jacket and headband. But his presence was different. His posture, the state of his clothes, and most importantly, his eyes. He looked impeccable, as if he had only arrived at the battlefield and not been fighting for a long time. And when they're eyes met, Itachi felt pressure.
For a moment, the battlefield faded for Itachi, as he was captured in the Uchiha's gaze. The smoke, the screams, the war itself, all of it seemed distant. He looked at the boy and felt something twist painfully in his chest.
"…So young. You're even younger than the others," he said sadly.
"Die, Uchiha!" an Iwa shinobi cried.
The man walked in front of Itachi and gently pushed him back. His hand landed on the hilt of his sword without hurry.
The Iwa shinobi charged forward, furious at the loss of so many jonin. Stone bullets shot through the air, earth walls rose and crashed down again. And all of them aimed at the new Uchiha no one had ever seen before.
He unsheathed his O-katana, and as he did, it looked as though his arm disappeared momentarily, only to then become visible again. Such was his speed that they couldn't fully follow it. But the strangest thing took place. The O-katana changed its shape and look. The blade, hilt, and tsuba turned completely white. The tsuba became a hollow snowflake-like circle, and a white ribbon formed from the pommel.
The air turned cold right away, settling an unusual calm over the battlefield, which was, rather, impossible.
The man swung the blade horizontally. The world seemed to shift. Again, all the Iwa shinobi froze. Only this time, literally. All of them turned to ice and fell to the ground. As they did, the ice shattered and their bodies with it.
Itachi's eyes widened at this result. He hadn't seen how the Uchiha's sword had changed, only that it did. He didn't see him do anything but swing the blade horizontally, and that was enough to kill all of those shinobi. He looked at the man with a conflicted expression. The man turned around and saw the significant trauma this day had inflicted upon the small child and shook his head.
He kneeled on the ground in front of him. All the danger and hardness were gone from his face, leaving a gentle expression.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"...Itachi... Itachi Uchiha."
"Itachi, huh. I'm Tenji. Nice to meet you, Itachi. Say, what is a young boy like you doing on the fronts? Where are your parents?" he asked.
Itachi was confused. Shouldn't all Uchiha know about his father? But then again, it was possible that this man didn't know that he was his father's son. The Uchiha clan was big after all. And he hadn't heard of this man either, so it would be impolite to assume things.
"My father is Fugaku Uchiha... The clan head."
This made Tenji narrow his eyes.
"The clan head? And why are you here then?"
"My father... brought me here to show me the battlefield and what we are fighting for."
"What a disgrace. This world has gone to shit. I have never been more ashamed of my descendants."
Tenji stood up again and looked around. The battle was still going on. It was time to end this.
.
Fugaku moved to rejoin his son, but another Earth jutsu slammed toward him. It was too wide to evade cleanly. Because if he did, it would affect his clansmen. So he faced it and used a fire-style jutsu in response.
Tenji stepped forward. This time, he did not draw his blade. The ground beneath his feet was affected, as his chakra reacted to his intent. Wind compressed into a coat made of razor-sharp blades around his body. Each of his movements sent invisible blades slicing through enemy ranks as Tenji ploughed through the shinobi. All armour was cut through, and their bodies fell to the ground dead.
Those who witnessed the technique immediately made a connection to the Third Raikage and his Lightning Armour. But this was wind and not lightning.
'Wind Style: Cutting Movement.'
Fugaku stared, momentarily forgetting the battle. This was not a ninjutsu as he had seen in the Uchiha Clan archives. Tenji didn't use seals. There was no wasted motion.
Within seconds, the immediate threat was gone, and the remaining Iwa shinobi who saw the massacre fled in fear. The battle wasn't entirely over yet, but this side of it was done. Tenji turned back to Fugaku.
"You should leave," he said. "Take your son away from this place."
Fugaku answered sharply.
"You don't give orders to your Clanhead."
"This world is full of death, betrayal and greed," he said quietly. "Your son has been traumatised because of your selfish dream of improving your clan's station within the village. You are a disgrace to your name and should be ashamed of yourself."
Fugaku hesitated. Something in the man's voice hit him deeply. But his pride was still ever-present, and he wouldn't take disrespect from anyone, especially not a fellow Uchiha clansman. However, his anger was swallowed the moment he looked into Tenji's eyes. There, he saw the certainty of death if he challenged him.
It was the truth of the world that no matter the era, power was always right in the end. No matter what, if you had power, you could do whatever you pleased and to whomever you pleased. So, when Fugaku saw and felt the immense danger that radiated from Tenji, he simply nodded his head.
"Come, Itachi. We're leaving."
They wouldn't be going back to Konoha right away. That would still take some time, since the battle was ongoing. But Fugaku ignored the fighting to finally take care of his son. Seeing this, Tenji looked after them and then turned back. There was something about Itachi that interested Tenji, and he would find out what that was. He would end the fighting today and follow his new conviction on how to change the world. He had been using his special genjutsu to make everyone believe he was an Uchiha, but it didn't really matter. It was useful to get where he wanted unbothered, though.