Izumi was skilled in taijutsu, but her real strength lay in the surgical manipulation of chakra. So being a medic suited her. It was Jun idea’s originally, but she also enjoyed it. She didn’t regret her decision. However, she could have had other careers. When she was little, she dreamed a lot of becoming a police officer, a jonin-sensei, or even a veterinarian…
She hadn’t always known what she wanted in life. She still hadn’t figured out everything. Izumi had always admired her brother for that. Jun always seemed to know where he was going, what he wanted from life, and what he wanted to do with his future. He had dozens of friends, hundreds of projects, and endless energy. Izumi envied his confidence. She was less sure of herself. She loved her job, she loved her teammates and her sensei, but she didn't dare to seek more.
She lacked ambition, perhaps. But she didn't feel like she was missing anything. Ambition did not seem to be necessary to her. She was content with what she had and that was it. Maybe she would retire once married, to have children. It was what her grandparents had wanted, and she had never seen a problem with it.
Sure, she preferred it to be an option rather than a path imposed on her. But in the end, she didn't mind taking care of her family. It was a nice idea. She didn't care about becoming a legendary kunoichi. Simply being Izumi Uchiha was enough for her. The question was whether settling for little was selfish of her.
Jun had been a clan leader for two and a half years. It was easier to use that as a time marker than to recall all the horrors that had happened during that time. Their mother had been killed, Itachi had killed the Uchihas, Itachi had tried to kill her, and her Sharingan had activated. Everything mingled in a confusing whirlwind of rage and grief.
Even two years later, it still hurt so much. Izumi liked Itachi. He had been reserved and quiet, but… He had been kind. When she lived with the Uchihas, Izumi had a terrible crush on him. Maybe even more than just a crush. After… When her family had been kicked out of the clan, she felt betrayed. She was bitter, sad, and angry. But the affection for him had not disappeared.
Even after Itachi tried to kill her, the affection didn't go away. The anger had just flared up again. Why, Itachi?! She had no answer. Itachi had tried to kill her, he had managed to kill all the other Uchihas, and Izumi had no answer. She hadn't even had time to ask him any questions. She froze, stupidly. She had been weak and useless. Without Jun, she would be dead. She could still feel the coldness of the blade on her neck, the sharp tingle of the cut, barely deeper than a wound made by a sheet of paper... Izumi's hair had grown back, and the scratch had healed, but the memory was engraved in her memory. She had almost died.
Afterward, Izumi tried to improve. She was good at taijutsu and ninjutsu. It was more than enough to dominate her teammates when they practiced, but not enough to beat Itachi if he came back. Not enough to protect her family. Not enough to have Jun's back. Before, it hadn't mattered, because Izumi had naively believed that she was safe in Konoha. But she had been wrong. The Uchihas were dead. Her mother was dead. No one was safe.
She also had to keep her Sharingan a secret. Initially, when Jun suggested that, Izumi had wanted to rebel. She was proud to have the Sharingan; it was proof of strength. And then she realized that, with no real strength to defend herself… Her Dojutsu would just make her a target.
So Izumi practiced more. Her strong point was her chakra control, so she sought to develop her skills in that area. Chakra scalpels were her favorite technique. Izumi had also approached Anko for information on poisons, and… She had received a lesson beyond her expectations. Well, Anko was peculiar and creepy, but she was pretty good at her job.
The only thing Izumi had against Anko was her dating her brother. Calling it dating was probably too strong. They had hooked up a few times. They tried to keep it secret, but Izumi found out. Anko spending the night sometimes at their residence was a dead giveaway.
But It wasn't like they were going to get married. Both Jun and Anko were on the same page. Each had their goals in life, and they respected that. And it wasn’t like Anko would disappear from their lives. She was eternally tied to the Uchihas given that she was pregnant with a lab-made baby Uchiha.
That was an unexpected development, but Izumi liked the idea of expanding the clan in secret. And babies were cute! Izumi wanted to have some. Not now, but later she wanted a big family. A husband, three or four children, and then cousins with whom they could play with, almost like a real clan...
Before, Izumi thought it would be easy to have all this. She even dreamed that her husband was Itachi, perhaps, following a miraculous reconciliation with the clan. But then… There had been tragedy after tragedy in her life. And Izumi had realized that even a modest and comfortable life required being willing to fight for it. Not being powerful had never bothered Izumi. But she wasn’t able to protect herself or her family. So she had to become better.
In taijutsu and ninjutsu, she would never equal Jun. So she turned to Genjutsu. She could deceive the chakra of others to make them feel pain, by affecting their nerves. Putting them to sleep, and affecting their emotions through the production of hormones. She could make them hallucinate by affecting the frontal lobe of the brain…
Without activating her Sharingan, Izumi was as good as Kurenai Yuhi, whom she had asked for advice. But when she activated her Dojutsu… it was another story. She trained with Jun and felt the difference. The Sharingan was a game-changer! That being said, she didn't use it often. Izumi didn't need her red pupils to be dangerous. She had learned Genjutsu the hard way, like most ninjas, and she excelled at it. The Sharingan would only be a plus.
After two years of effort, she had become stronger. She had passed the chunin exam.
She still couldn't beat Itachi. He was on another level. In Konoha, the shinobis capable of beating him could be counted on the fingers of one hand. But Izumi was no longer weak. The next time someone tried to slit her throat, she could fight back. She would use her chakra scalpels, her Suiton attacks, her senbons coated in paralyzing toxins, and her surgical Genjutsu. She would defend herself.
The Uchiha family celebrated her promotion by having dinner at an excellent Akimichi restaurant. Karin and Kazuma had plenty of questions, and even the stoic Neji and the silent Sasuke had been eager to hear her recount the various trials. At one time, Izumi wouldn't have wanted to talk to Sasuke.
But over the years, the kid had made a place for himself in her heart. He would always come after Jun and Kazuma, of course, but he was also family. It wasn't his fault he was Itachi's brother. He was not responsible for his brother's actions. And frankly, he was probably the one who suffered the most.
The following day, Jun had woken Izumi in an abominably cheerful voice early in the morning and opened the curtains wide. Izumi hid her head under her pillow with a grunt.
“Come on!” Jun said, his eyes shining with amusement. “It's already eight o'clock. Don't tell me you're still sleepy.”
Jun snatched the pillow from her, and a short struggle ensued. Jun unsurprisingly won, and the defeated Izumi had no choice but to get up.
“I hope you had a good reason to wake me up so early…”
“You are a chunin now! It's time for you to choose a Summoning contract, don't you think?”
Izumi immediately felt awake.
“Really?”
“Sure. It's useful, you know. Especially outside the village!”
Jun rarely used his summonings on missions. Cats were proud, unaccommodating creatures. Izumi could see how useful an animal companion could be during a mission. Her Inuzuka teammate could use her dogs to track a target, carry messages, and monitor a perimeter. It was super useful. Then Izumi thought of something and frowned.
“But I'm a medic. You will probably be sent outside the village more than me.”
A genin was a genin, whether he or she was a medic or not. It was the lowest rank, they were sent on all kinds of missions. But chunins were more valued. A genin medic would be sent to do genin work, but a chunin medic would stay safe so that their skills could be put to best use within the village.
“You're still a chunin,” Jun pointed out. “You will continue to have missions outside the village, and you will no doubt be asked to lead Genins in missions. It will indeed happen to you less often than most chunins, but it will happen… And I would be more reassured if you have a Summoning contract.”
There was a short silence. Yes, Jun still worry about her. Izumi was well aware of that. One day, perhaps Itachi would return. But in the meantime, their situation was pretty good, right? And not just their situation, as an Uchiha. The situation of the village as a whole was good. The world had rarely been so peaceful.
Sure, there were some tensions here and there. Iwa and Kumo were fighting over territory. Nukenins were causing mayhem. There were deaths, problems, and betrayals. But that was the ninja world. It gave them missions, and that was what put food on the table.
Some situations also had to be monitored from a distance in case they exploded. The situation in the Land of Water was dire, for example. It had deteriorated over the past five or six years, since the Yondaime Mizukage's appointment. But recently, threats of Kekkei Genkai purges had started to turn into real acts of violence, threatening to plunge the country into civil war.
There were starting to be quite a few Nukenins wandering around the borders of the country. Refugees, too, sought asylum in neighboring nations. Izumi had only heard of this from other ninjas, but several Kekkei Genkai holders had taken refuge in Konoha. They were probably far from the heart of the village and very well supervised.
Truth be told, Izumi only knew because Jun had told her. Her brother knew because the Division was in charge of the matter. The branch in charge of political refugees had once been commanded by Danzo. Now that he was dead, someone had to take care of these civilians who fled their country and wanted to start a new life in Konoha.
Procedures had to be established to place them in quarantine, question them, try to ensure that they were not spies, to decide whether the risk was worth it. It seemed complicated. Izumi wondered when Danzo had control of this if he hadn't simply killed all the migrants for fear of letting a spy live. Considering what she knew of Danzo, it wouldn’t put it past the man.
For now, the refugees were few. They were mostly civilians, scared of the potential violence. The ninjas lived from the war, they would only leave their homes when they were violently driven out. Izumi wondered what would become of these people driven by despair. Konoha was already suspicious of the first wave of refugees, the most peaceful of the lot. Would the village take the risk of welcoming more dangerous deserters?
The Sandaime was open on the matter. He welcomed foreign diplomats and created alliances. It was the kind of thing that very few other Kage dared to do… However, even the Sandaime had his limits. Welcoming civilians, children, and frightened families… all that was fine. On the other hand, to welcome bloodthirsty ninjas driven from their homes? That was another story. Izumi had no particular opinion on this. It was not up to her to decide.
“Do you think there are summonings related to water?” She asked.
Jun understood the reason for her question. Izumi’s main affinity was with water.
“The Uchiha’s contracts are mostly related to fire. Hmmm… There are bird contracts, though. Birds are not necessarily related to the Katon.”
“They are related to the Futon, right?”
“Not necessarily, I will have to read my notes again.”
Izumi nodded and smiled.
“Let's go then.”
The noise from their conversation had awakened Kazuma, who was sleeping in the next room. And since Jun hadn't been particularly quiet leaving his own house, he had also woken up Karin and Sasuke. By the time they all sat down for breakfast, Neji had arrived. He had to roll out of bed at dawn, get dressed and clear out of the Hyuga's residence. He never spent much time there anyway. He slept there, ate there once a week when he couldn't escape, and sometimes took advantage of their dojo to train late at night. That was all. Honestly, how had no one noticed that he pretty much lived somewhere else?
Izumi didn't think very highly of the Hyuga clan. They were even more rigid than the Uchihas had been. After breakfast, the whole troop remained together. They were all there when Jun opened the door to the room where he had stored all the summoning contracts…and they all took a big clump of dust in their face.
“How long has it been since you cleaned, sensei?!” Karin coughed.
"I never did," Jun admitted sheepishly.
The Uchiha clan residence consisted of three adjoining dwellings: one for Jun, which he shared with Karin and Sasuke, one for Izumi which she shared with Kazuma, and one that remained vacant. In practice, they all lived in each other's homes, and the vacant house served as storage space. It was filled with goods salvaged from the Uchiha district before it was destroyed. They sometimes came to help themselves to weapons, books, or other items they may need.
“You could hire a team of Genins to give them this to do on a D-rank mission,” Izumi suggested.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Jun replied.
He crossed the room, shielding his face with his sleeve, and opened a window, then cast a weak Fuuton to make the dust fly away.
“Well, are you coming or what?”
They entered. It was what Izumi called the archive room. There were papers everywhere. And on a large shelf, the summoning contracts. There were seventeen. Izumi remembered them, for helping sort them out when Jun emptied the Uchiha District.
The cats’ contract was at the top of the pile. There were others like ravens, crows, falcons, owls, eagles, salamanders, cranes, squirrels, bats… They took them all out in the garden. They lined them up next to each other on the grass. Jun also brought several books and scrolls, which contained notes from various members of the Uchiha clan on their Summoning contracts. Izumi was a bit nervous. It was an important decision.
“Do you have to be a chunin to have a contract?” Karin asked curiously.
“No. There are no rules about it. You just need to have sufficient chakra to perform the jutsu. The chunin rule is something I came up with for us. Why? Because all five of you will be responsible for the contract you chose. I will give you the contract scroll. It will be yours.”
Neji and Karin froze. Jun said five of them, which meant they were included as well. Izumi couldn't suppress a surprised expression. She had nothing against the idea. Neji and Karin were part of the clan, in her eyes. But offering them a summoning contract was an official statement. Especially if it came from Jun, their clan leader.”
"And no one will have... any objection?" Karin hesitated.
Jun narrowed his eyes, an expression that indicated that no objection was welcome. Izumi couldn't help but giggle. When eyes turned to her, she smiled.
“You're both practically half-Uchiha. Neji, you were raised more by our mom than by your clan. And Karin has been with us for more than three years in addition to being Jun’s apprentice.
Jun nodded approvingly.
"Oh," Neji said hoarsely. “It's... Thank you.”
Kazuma gave him a teasing nudge to hide his emotion.
“Hehe, if you are part of the Uchiha clan, there is a Katon jutsu that you must know…”
Kazuma had mastered the Katon, Fireball technique for a year. It was a traditional Uchiha jutsu. Jun had taught him the technique at the end of his first year at the Academy. It had taken Kazuma a dozen tries to get it, but the result had filled him with pride. He and Sasuke had challenged each other to a fireball-throwing contest and had had sore throats for the next couple of days.
But it was a good suggestion. The jutsu had symbolic importance. Even Izumi, whose main affinity was the Suiton, mastered it. Jun smiled upon hearing the idea. Izumi risked a glance in Sasuke's direction, but he didn't seem indignant at the idea of the precious Uchiha heritage being shared with strangers. He looked… a little envious. And melancholy.
“That's a good idea,” Jun agreed. “I will teach you before you are appointed Genins.”
Neji focused on the Soft Fist, but from living with the Uchiha, he had absorbed some of their techniques by osmosis. Their taijutsu style, techniques for handling shurikens… He hadn't yet learned any elementary jutsu though. The Hyuga never used it. But judging by his enthusiastic nod, he would have no qualms about breaking that tradition.
Karin like Neji already knew the three basic jutsu taught at the Academy the Bunshin, the Henge, and the Kawarimi. But she possessed no elementary jutsu either. There was little chance that her natural affinity was the Katon since she was an Uzumaki. But she was looking forward to learning the technique. Not because the technique itself interested her, but because of its symbolic importance.
“I may have enough chakra to sign a contract right now!” Karin tried, casting a hopeful look at Jun.
Jun gave an amused snort and ruffled his student's hair vigorously.
“Rules are rules. I’ll see about making exceptions, but not right now.”
“I have great chakra reserves too,” Neji pointed out.
“Same thing, we'll talk about it once you both graduate.”
Jun wasn’t going to let them have their way.
“Today is Izumi's big day, not yours!”
“Yeah,” Izumi added with a smile.
“Well, go ahead then, we are waiting for you to choose!” Kazuma teased her.
He had sat down on the grass, his leg crossed. Sasuke stood beside him. Neji and Karin were also standing. Everyone stared at Izumi with an angelic look, waiting for her to make the first move. Jun gestured broadly to all the contracts.
“A preference?”
There were so many. Izumi gulped, her gaze flickering from contract to contract undecided.
“I don’t know…”
“Let’s proceed by elimination then. Do you want something massive and full of claws or something more discreet?”
Izumi snorted amusedly.
“Massive and clawed things are more your thing. I'm not made for frontal confrontation like you. I would need an animal that could carry messages, scout… A bird perhaps? And it would be awesome if they have a Suiton affinity.”
The Uchiha clan had several contracts, related to different species of birds. Jun automatically dismissed the crows' contract, and Izumi felt a pang of annoyance. Yes, she didn't want to contract with the same animals as Itachi, but that decision was up to her, not Jun.
She didn't comment, however, her attention focused on the remaining contracts. Crows were too similar to ravens. That left owls, falcons, eagles, hawks…
“You may be luckier to have an animal capable of fighting among the falcons according to my notes.”
But Izumi didn't want to fight, not really. She wanted to be strong enough to protect her own, but she didn't want to be a warrior like Jun. Was it selfish of her to want an animal that reflected that? It would be selfish. Because even if she was satisfied with little, the world was still dangerous. Jun wouldn't always be there.
"I think I'll take the owls," she decided. “I don't want an overly aggressive bird, but owls are raptors, they should be able to fight too.”
Karin, who was leafing through Jun's notes on the various contracts, held up a page and said:
“Apparently, owls are good at Genjutsu!”
"The ravens too… and the bats…" Neji added, who was reading over her shoulder.
"I'll take the owls," she repeated.
“Are you sure?” Her brother asked. “If they accept the contract, you may not be able to go back. Some animal contracts’ are so strict you aren’t able to sign another summoning contract.”
Jun had learned it the hard way when he signed his pact with the cats. They were too proud to allow their shinobis to have contracts with other animals. Therefore, Jun could no longer contract with any other animal. Izumi remembered how he had sulked for a week.
Izumi's gaze returned to the contract. Owls.
“I'm sure.”
She was done with indecision. So she took the scroll and opened it. She made a cut on her thumb with her index finger and wrote her name on the scroll. She then touched the bloody finger with her other fingers and apposed her fingerprints below her name. After she was done, she quickly stopped the bleeding with a touch of the green medical chakra.
“How do we know if the other side has accepted the contract,” Sasuke asked.
“There is only one way to find out,” Jun said to Izumi, nodding to her to give it a try. “Oh and the more chakra you poured into the jutsu, the bigger and stronger the summoning will be.”
Using the blood still fresh on her fingers, she waved the following hand signs, Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram.
“Kuchiyose No Jutsu!” She said extending her palm in front of her.
There was a muffled sound followed by a cloud of smoke. An owl came out of the smoke and soared in the sky, before landing on Izumi’s shoulders. The summoning has been a success. Everyone was excited for her.
Note:
After this chapter, there will be three chapters with Itachi's POV, then one (or two) with Karin's POV. Then, we will have a 'time skip,' and the story will resume from when Naruto becomes a genin, and the genin teams are formed. My goal is to have the chapters with Itachi and Karin POVs out this week.
Izumi was skilled in taijutsu, but her real strength lay in the surgical manipulation of chakra. So being a medic suited her. It was Jun idea’s originally, but she also enjoyed it. She didn’t regret her decision. However, she could have had other careers. When she was little, she dreamed a lot of becoming a police officer, a jonin-sensei, or even a veterinarian…
She hadn’t always known what she wanted in life. She still hadn’t figured out everything. Izumi had always admired her brother for that. Jun always seemed to know where he was going, what he wanted from life, and what he wanted to do with his future. He had dozens of friends, hundreds of projects, and endless energy. Izumi envied his confidence. She was less sure of herself. She loved her job, she loved her teammates and her sensei, but she didn't dare to seek more.
She lacked ambition, perhaps. But she didn't feel like she was missing anything. Ambition did not seem to be necessary to her. She was content with what she had and that was it. Maybe she would retire once married, to have children. It was what her grandparents had wanted, and she had never seen a problem with it.
Sure, she preferred it to be an option rather than a path imposed on her. But in the end, she didn't mind taking care of her family. It was a nice idea. She didn't care about becoming a legendary kunoichi. Simply being Izumi Uchiha was enough for her. The question was whether settling for little was selfish of her.
Jun had been a clan leader for two and a half years. It was easier to use that as a time marker than to recall all the horrors that had happened during that time. Their mother had been killed, Itachi had killed the Uchihas, Itachi had tried to kill her, and her Sharingan had activated. Everything mingled in a confusing whirlwind of rage and grief.
Even two years later, it still hurt so much. Izumi liked Itachi. He had been reserved and quiet, but… He had been kind. When she lived with the Uchihas, Izumi had a terrible crush on him. Maybe even more than just a crush. After… When her family had been kicked out of the clan, she felt betrayed. She was bitter, sad, and angry. But the affection for him had not disappeared.
Even after Itachi tried to kill her, the affection didn't go away. The anger had just flared up again. Why, Itachi?! She had no answer. Itachi had tried to kill her, he had managed to kill all the other Uchihas, and Izumi had no answer. She hadn't even had time to ask him any questions. She froze, stupidly. She had been weak and useless. Without Jun, she would be dead. She could still feel the coldness of the blade on her neck, the sharp tingle of the cut, barely deeper than a wound made by a sheet of paper... Izumi's hair had grown back, and the scratch had healed, but the memory was engraved in her memory. She had almost died.
Afterward, Izumi tried to improve. She was good at taijutsu and ninjutsu. It was more than enough to dominate her teammates when they practiced, but not enough to beat Itachi if he came back. Not enough to protect her family. Not enough to have Jun's back. Before, it hadn't mattered, because Izumi had naively believed that she was safe in Konoha. But she had been wrong. The Uchihas were dead. Her mother was dead. No one was safe.
She also had to keep her Sharingan a secret. Initially, when Jun suggested that, Izumi had wanted to rebel. She was proud to have the Sharingan; it was proof of strength. And then she realized that, with no real strength to defend herself… Her Dojutsu would just make her a target.
So Izumi practiced more. Her strong point was her chakra control, so she sought to develop her skills in that area. Chakra scalpels were her favorite technique. Izumi had also approached Anko for information on poisons, and… She had received a lesson beyond her expectations. Well, Anko was peculiar and creepy, but she was pretty good at her job.
The only thing Izumi had against Anko was her dating her brother. Calling it dating was probably too strong. They had hooked up a few times. They tried to keep it secret, but Izumi found out. Anko spending the night sometimes at their residence was a dead giveaway.
But It wasn't like they were going to get married. Both Jun and Anko were on the same page. Each had their goals in life, and they respected that. And it wasn’t like Anko would disappear from their lives. She was eternally tied to the Uchihas given that she was pregnant with a lab-made baby Uchiha.
That was an unexpected development, but Izumi liked the idea of expanding the clan in secret. And babies were cute! Izumi wanted to have some. Not now, but later she wanted a big family. A husband, three or four children, and then cousins with whom they could play with, almost like a real clan...
Before, Izumi thought it would be easy to have all this. She even dreamed that her husband was Itachi, perhaps, following a miraculous reconciliation with the clan. But then… There had been tragedy after tragedy in her life. And Izumi had realized that even a modest and comfortable life required being willing to fight for it. Not being powerful had never bothered Izumi. But she wasn’t able to protect herself or her family. So she had to become better.
In taijutsu and ninjutsu, she would never equal Jun. So she turned to Genjutsu. She could deceive the chakra of others to make them feel pain, by affecting their nerves. Putting them to sleep, and affecting their emotions through the production of hormones. She could make them hallucinate by affecting the frontal lobe of the brain…
Without activating her Sharingan, Izumi was as good as Kurenai Yuhi, whom she had asked for advice. But when she activated her Dojutsu… it was another story. She trained with Jun and felt the difference. The Sharingan was a game-changer! That being said, she didn't use it often. Izumi didn't need her red pupils to be dangerous. She had learned Genjutsu the hard way, like most ninjas, and she excelled at it. The Sharingan would only be a plus.
After two years of effort, she had become stronger. She had passed the chunin exam.
She still couldn't beat Itachi. He was on another level. In Konoha, the shinobis capable of beating him could be counted on the fingers of one hand. But Izumi was no longer weak. The next time someone tried to slit her throat, she could fight back. She would use her chakra scalpels, her Suiton attacks, her senbons coated in paralyzing toxins, and her surgical Genjutsu. She would defend herself.
The Uchiha family celebrated her promotion by having dinner at an excellent Akimichi restaurant. Karin and Kazuma had plenty of questions, and even the stoic Neji and the silent Sasuke had been eager to hear her recount the various trials. At one time, Izumi wouldn't have wanted to talk to Sasuke.
But over the years, the kid had made a place for himself in her heart. He would always come after Jun and Kazuma, of course, but he was also family. It wasn't his fault he was Itachi's brother. He was not responsible for his brother's actions. And frankly, he was probably the one who suffered the most.
The following day, Jun had woken Izumi in an abominably cheerful voice early in the morning and opened the curtains wide. Izumi hid her head under her pillow with a grunt.
“Come on!” Jun said, his eyes shining with amusement. “It's already eight o'clock. Don't tell me you're still sleepy.”
Jun snatched the pillow from her, and a short struggle ensued. Jun unsurprisingly won, and the defeated Izumi had no choice but to get up.
“I hope you had a good reason to wake me up so early…”
“You are a chunin now! It's time for you to choose a Summoning contract, don't you think?”
Izumi immediately felt awake.
“Really?”
“Sure. It's useful, you know. Especially outside the village!”
Jun rarely used his summonings on missions. Cats were proud, unaccommodating creatures. Izumi could see how useful an animal companion could be during a mission. Her Inuzuka teammate could use her dogs to track a target, carry messages, and monitor a perimeter. It was super useful. Then Izumi thought of something and frowned.
“But I'm a medic. You will probably be sent outside the village more than me.”
A genin was a genin, whether he or she was a medic or not. It was the lowest rank, they were sent on all kinds of missions. But chunins were more valued. A genin medic would be sent to do genin work, but a chunin medic would stay safe so that their skills could be put to best use within the village.
“You're still a chunin,” Jun pointed out. “You will continue to have missions outside the village, and you will no doubt be asked to lead Genins in missions. It will indeed happen to you less often than most chunins, but it will happen… And I would be more reassured if you have a Summoning contract.”
There was a short silence. Yes, Jun still worry about her. Izumi was well aware of that. One day, perhaps Itachi would return. But in the meantime, their situation was pretty good, right? And not just their situation, as an Uchiha. The situation of the village as a whole was good. The world had rarely been so peaceful.
Sure, there were some tensions here and there. Iwa and Kumo were fighting over territory. Nukenins were causing mayhem. There were deaths, problems, and betrayals. But that was the ninja world. It gave them missions, and that was what put food on the table.
Some situations also had to be monitored from a distance in case they exploded. The situation in the Land of Water was dire, for example. It had deteriorated over the past five or six years, since the Yondaime Mizukage's appointment. But recently, threats of Kekkei Genkai purges had started to turn into real acts of violence, threatening to plunge the country into civil war.
There were starting to be quite a few Nukenins wandering around the borders of the country. Refugees, too, sought asylum in neighboring nations. Izumi had only heard of this from other ninjas, but several Kekkei Genkai holders had taken refuge in Konoha. They were probably far from the heart of the village and very well supervised.
Truth be told, Izumi only knew because Jun had told her. Her brother knew because the Division was in charge of the matter. The branch in charge of political refugees had once been commanded by Danzo. Now that he was dead, someone had to take care of these civilians who fled their country and wanted to start a new life in Konoha.
Procedures had to be established to place them in quarantine, question them, try to ensure that they were not spies, to decide whether the risk was worth it. It seemed complicated. Izumi wondered when Danzo had control of this if he hadn't simply killed all the migrants for fear of letting a spy live. Considering what she knew of Danzo, it wouldn’t put it past the man.
For now, the refugees were few. They were mostly civilians, scared of the potential violence. The ninjas lived from the war, they would only leave their homes when they were violently driven out. Izumi wondered what would become of these people driven by despair. Konoha was already suspicious of the first wave of refugees, the most peaceful of the lot. Would the village take the risk of welcoming more dangerous deserters?
The Sandaime was open on the matter. He welcomed foreign diplomats and created alliances. It was the kind of thing that very few other Kage dared to do… However, even the Sandaime had his limits. Welcoming civilians, children, and frightened families… all that was fine. On the other hand, to welcome bloodthirsty ninjas driven from their homes? That was another story. Izumi had no particular opinion on this. It was not up to her to decide.
“Do you think there are summonings related to water?” She asked.
Jun understood the reason for her question. Izumi’s main affinity was with water.
“The Uchiha’s contracts are mostly related to fire. Hmmm… There are bird contracts, though. Birds are not necessarily related to the Katon.”
“They are related to the Futon, right?”
“Not necessarily, I will have to read my notes again.”
Izumi nodded and smiled.
“Let's go then.”
The noise from their conversation had awakened Kazuma, who was sleeping in the next room. And since Jun hadn't been particularly quiet leaving his own house, he had also woken up Karin and Sasuke. By the time they all sat down for breakfast, Neji had arrived. He had to roll out of bed at dawn, get dressed and clear out of the Hyuga's residence. He never spent much time there anyway. He slept there, ate there once a week when he couldn't escape, and sometimes took advantage of their dojo to train late at night. That was all. Honestly, how had no one noticed that he pretty much lived somewhere else?
Izumi didn't think very highly of the Hyuga clan. They were even more rigid than the Uchihas had been. After breakfast, the whole troop remained together. They were all there when Jun opened the door to the room where he had stored all the summoning contracts…and they all took a big clump of dust in their face.
“How long has it been since you cleaned, sensei?!” Karin coughed.
"I never did," Jun admitted sheepishly.
The Uchiha clan residence consisted of three adjoining dwellings: one for Jun, which he shared with Karin and Sasuke, one for Izumi which she shared with Kazuma, and one that remained vacant. In practice, they all lived in each other's homes, and the vacant house served as storage space. It was filled with goods salvaged from the Uchiha district before it was destroyed. They sometimes came to help themselves to weapons, books, or other items they may need.
“You could hire a team of Genins to give them this to do on a D-rank mission,” Izumi suggested.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Jun replied.
He crossed the room, shielding his face with his sleeve, and opened a window, then cast a weak Fuuton to make the dust fly away.
“Well, are you coming or what?”
They entered. It was what Izumi called the archive room. There were papers everywhere. And on a large shelf, the summoning contracts. There were seventeen. Izumi remembered them, for helping sort them out when Jun emptied the Uchiha District.
The cats’ contract was at the top of the pile. There were others like ravens, crows, falcons, owls, eagles, salamanders, cranes, squirrels, bats… They took them all out in the garden. They lined them up next to each other on the grass. Jun also brought several books and scrolls, which contained notes from various members of the Uchiha clan on their Summoning contracts. Izumi was a bit nervous. It was an important decision.
“Do you have to be a chunin to have a contract?” Karin asked curiously.
“No. There are no rules about it. You just need to have sufficient chakra to perform the jutsu. The chunin rule is something I came up with for us. Why? Because all five of you will be responsible for the contract you chose. I will give you the contract scroll. It will be yours.”
Neji and Karin froze. Jun said five of them, which meant they were included as well. Izumi couldn't suppress a surprised expression. She had nothing against the idea. Neji and Karin were part of the clan, in her eyes. But offering them a summoning contract was an official statement. Especially if it came from Jun, their clan leader.”
"And no one will have... any objection?" Karin hesitated.
Jun narrowed his eyes, an expression that indicated that no objection was welcome. Izumi couldn't help but giggle. When eyes turned to her, she smiled.
“You're both practically half-Uchiha. Neji, you were raised more by our mom than by your clan. And Karin has been with us for more than three years in addition to being Jun’s apprentice.
Jun nodded approvingly.
"Oh," Neji said hoarsely. “It's... Thank you.”
Kazuma gave him a teasing nudge to hide his emotion.
“Hehe, if you are part of the Uchiha clan, there is a Katon jutsu that you must know…”
Kazuma had mastered the Katon, Fireball technique for a year. It was a traditional Uchiha jutsu. Jun had taught him the technique at the end of his first year at the Academy. It had taken Kazuma a dozen tries to get it, but the result had filled him with pride. He and Sasuke had challenged each other to a fireball-throwing contest and had had sore throats for the next couple of days.
But it was a good suggestion. The jutsu had symbolic importance. Even Izumi, whose main affinity was the Suiton, mastered it. Jun smiled upon hearing the idea. Izumi risked a glance in Sasuke's direction, but he didn't seem indignant at the idea of the precious Uchiha heritage being shared with strangers. He looked… a little envious. And melancholy.
“That's a good idea,” Jun agreed. “I will teach you before you are appointed Genins.”
Neji focused on the Soft Fist, but from living with the Uchiha, he had absorbed some of their techniques by osmosis. Their taijutsu style, techniques for handling shurikens… He hadn't yet learned any elementary jutsu though. The Hyuga never used it. But judging by his enthusiastic nod, he would have no qualms about breaking that tradition.
Karin like Neji already knew the three basic jutsu taught at the Academy the Bunshin, the Henge, and the Kawarimi. But she possessed no elementary jutsu either. There was little chance that her natural affinity was the Katon since she was an Uzumaki. But she was looking forward to learning the technique. Not because the technique itself interested her, but because of its symbolic importance.
“I may have enough chakra to sign a contract right now!” Karin tried, casting a hopeful look at Jun.
Jun gave an amused snort and ruffled his student's hair vigorously.
“Rules are rules. I’ll see about making exceptions, but not right now.”
“I have great chakra reserves too,” Neji pointed out.
“Same thing, we'll talk about it once you both graduate.”
Jun wasn’t going to let them have their way.
“Today is Izumi's big day, not yours!”
“Yeah,” Izumi added with a smile.
“Well, go ahead then, we are waiting for you to choose!” Kazuma teased her.
He had sat down on the grass, his leg crossed. Sasuke stood beside him. Neji and Karin were also standing. Everyone stared at Izumi with an angelic look, waiting for her to make the first move. Jun gestured broadly to all the contracts.
“A preference?”
There were so many. Izumi gulped, her gaze flickering from contract to contract undecided.
“I don’t know…”
“Let’s proceed by elimination then. Do you want something massive and full of claws or something more discreet?”
Izumi snorted amusedly.
“Massive and clawed things are more your thing. I'm not made for frontal confrontation like you. I would need an animal that could carry messages, scout… A bird perhaps? And it would be awesome if they have a Suiton affinity.”
The Uchiha clan had several contracts, related to different species of birds. Jun automatically dismissed the crows' contract, and Izumi felt a pang of annoyance. Yes, she didn't want to contract with the same animals as Itachi, but that decision was up to her, not Jun.
She didn't comment, however, her attention focused on the remaining contracts. Crows were too similar to ravens. That left owls, falcons, eagles, hawks…
“You may be luckier to have an animal capable of fighting among the falcons according to my notes.”
But Izumi didn't want to fight, not really. She wanted to be strong enough to protect her own, but she didn't want to be a warrior like Jun. Was it selfish of her to want an animal that reflected that? It would be selfish. Because even if she was satisfied with little, the world was still dangerous. Jun wouldn't always be there.
"I think I'll take the owls," she decided. “I don't want an overly aggressive bird, but owls are raptors, they should be able to fight too.”
Karin, who was leafing through Jun's notes on the various contracts, held up a page and said:
“Apparently, owls are good at Genjutsu!”
"The ravens too… and the bats…" Neji added, who was reading over her shoulder.
"I'll take the owls," she repeated.
“Are you sure?” Her brother asked. “If they accept the contract, you may not be able to go back. Some animal contracts’ are so strict you aren’t able to sign another summoning contract.”
Jun had learned it the hard way when he signed his pact with the cats. They were too proud to allow their shinobis to have contracts with other animals. Therefore, Jun could no longer contract with any other animal. Izumi remembered how he had sulked for a week.
Izumi's gaze returned to the contract. Owls.
“I'm sure.”
She was done with indecision. So she took the scroll and opened it. She made a cut on her thumb with her index finger and wrote her name on the scroll. She then touched the bloody finger with her other fingers and apposed her fingerprints below her name. After she was done, she quickly stopped the bleeding with a touch of the green medical chakra.
“How do we know if the other side has accepted the contract,” Sasuke asked.
“There is only one way to find out,” Jun said to Izumi, nodding to her to give it a try. “Oh and the more chakra you poured into the jutsu, the bigger and stronger the summoning will be.”
Using the blood still fresh on her fingers, she waved the following hand signs, Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram.
“Kuchiyose No Jutsu!” She said extending her palm in front of her.
There was a muffled sound followed by a cloud of smoke. An owl came out of the smoke and soared in the sky, before landing on Izumi’s shoulders. The summoning has been a success. Everyone was excited for her.
Note:
After this chapter, there will be three chapters with Itachi's POV, then one (or two) with Karin's POV. Then, we will have a 'time skip,' and the story will resume from when Naruto becomes a genin, and the genin teams are formed. My goal is to have the chapters with Itachi and Karin POVs out this week.
