Chapter 97: Uchiha Tobirama's Debut; The First Hurdle
The Hidden Grass Village.
Dressed in tattered, blood-stained rags, a boy carrying a small wooden food container slowly knocked on the door of a secluded cabin.
His face was a mask of exhaustion. The sharp, aristocratic features of the Izuna-base were dulled by a layer of grime and ash, making him look like just another broken refugee in a village of scavengers. Only his dark eyes remained clear, burning with a cold, subterranean intelligence.
Tobirama Senju had been in the Hidden Grass for two months. It hadn't taken him long to dissect the village's rot. He had sensed the rhythmic chakra fluctuations coming from Hozuki Castle and realized the Grass were using prisoners as human batteries to fuel a prehistoric relic.
He had easily slipped into the system, assuming the identity of a "nameless" death-row inmate. In the pits of the Blood Prison, where men were drained until they were husks, there was no conversation and no identity. It was a hell for others, but for Tobirama, it was the perfect hiding spot.
During a routine chakra-drain, Tobirama had displayed just enough "latent potential" to catch the attention of a mid-level warden.
One look with his Two-Tomoe Sharingan was all it took to hypnotize the man. He planted a suggestion: This boy is a loyal prodigy who can be groomed into a weapon. The warden pulled him from the pits and assigned him a "low-stress" job: food delivery to their most prized asset.
The asset's name was Shio Uzumaki. In the Grass records, she was listed as the "Sacred Medical Apparatus."
"Coming, coming..." a woman's voice called out, carrying a strange, fragile note of cheerfulness.
The door creaked open, and Shio Uzumaki looked out. She smiled the moment she saw the boy. "I knew it was you."
Tobirama feigned a look of confusion. "How?"
He knew the answer. Shio was an Uzumaki; her innate sensing was likely high enough to memorize his unique chakra signature. But as a "lowly refugee," he wasn't supposed to know about the sensory gifts of the Whirlpool. He had to play the part of the ignorant orphan.
"Because you're the only one who knocks," Shio said softly.
"Everyone else just kicks the door open. Cough... cough..." Shio covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking. "Please, come in. Set the tray down. Have you eaten? You look so thin."
She scanned the boy's malnourished frame. "I can tell your 'foundation' is strong, little one. You're just like me... born under an unlucky star."
Tobirama remained silent.
What does she mean by 'foundation'? he wondered. If she meant his face, she was right—he had hand-sculpted it to look like Izuna Uchiha. But hearing her describe his chakra as "sharp yet gentle" made his lip twitch.
扉間 (Tobirama) elements are more attractive than 泉奈 (Izuna) elements? he thought with a flicker of petty satisfaction. Even as a teenager, I have more class than that Uchiha dog.
"I don't need extra rations. You eat," Tobirama said, pulling two cloth-wrapped chicken legs from his shirt. He handed them to her. "If you keep skipping meals, you're going to die."
The scent of roasted meat filled the small cabin.
Shio stared at the food, her hands beginning to tremble. "Where... where did you get this? Did you steal from the kitchens?"
"Obito... you can't! If they catch you, they'll kill you! Take it back! Please, take it back before someone sees!"
Tobirama sighed. He had used the name "Obito" as a temporary alias. He watched her panic and realized that men and women operated on entirely different logical planes.
The logical move is to eat the protein and gain the strength to escape, Tobirama thought. Instead, she wants to return the 'evidence' while starving? Women are a scientific anomaly.
He remembered his days in the Senju clan. Even when his female kinsmen flocked to him, he had ignored them, preferring to spend his time figuring out how to bypass the Uchiha's dynamic vision. He had even mocked Izuna back then, calling him a "decadent playboy" who would eventually be ruined by his lust.
I was right, Tobirama reminded himself. I'm the one who survived.
"I've... awakened a talent," Tobirama said, forcing the conversation forward. He looked her in the eyes—red against black. "Do you really want to stay in this village forever?"
"I—! Of course not!" Shio whispered, her voice dropping to a frantic hiss. "But don't think a little talent is enough to get us out. The Grass defenses are absolute. Their Head Ninja are monsters. Without high-level Ninjutsu, we're just lambs."
Shio was a master of Sealing and Sensing, but her combat repertoire was nonexistent. She knew the theory, but her body was too weak to execute.
"What if I taught you?" she asked, her eyes shining with sudden hope. "I remember the signs for several Water and Fire Style jutsus. We can practice in secret."
"I won't teach you Sealing Arts—it's too complex and useless for a quick escape. I shouldn't have wasted my youth on it," she sighed, looking at her scarred wrists.
Tobirama felt a pang of annoyance. Useless? My entire village is built on your Sealing Arts! But he kept his face blank.
"I've been... having dreams," Tobirama lied, adopting a hushed, mysterious tone.
"Every time I sleep, I hear voices. Sometimes it's a man screaming about 'Peace,' other times it's a colder voice explaining the laws of the world. When I wake up, I just... know things. It's like a gift from the ancestors."
Shio's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "A Guardian Blessing! Oh, you truly are a child of destiny!"
"In the Uzumaki clan, we have legends of this. Every few generations, a leader is born with the 'Echo' of an ancestor anchored to their chakra. They gain the wisdom and power of the past to settle the chaos of the present."
"You must come from a legendary bloodline! An ancestor is reaching out to save you!"
Tobirama smirked inwardly. Bingo.
He had read about "Ancestral Possession" in the archives. It was a rare, metaphysical phenomenon that even he couldn't fully explain. By using this as his "Origin Story," he could explain away his use of S-rank Senju and Uchiha jutsus without revealing his true identity.
"I can already do this," Tobirama said. He wove a few hand signs—deliberately slow and clumsy—to "perform" a basic Water sign.
"Wait! That was perfect!" Shio gasped. "You're a natural! Listen, I'm going to teach you the Water Dragon Bullet. It's very advanced—forty-four hand signs! You have to memorize the sequence perfectly!"
She began reciting the long, tedious chain of signs.
Tobirama nodded along, pretending to struggle.
Forty-four signs? he thought with pure disdain. I haven't used more than four signs for a Water Dragon since I was five years old. In a real fight against Izuna, forty-four signs would give him enough time to kill me, have a snack, and kill me again.
"I think I've got the rhythm," Tobirama whispered.
"Good! You're so smart!" Shio turned away, blushing slightly. "Obito... thank you. For the food. And for the hope."
Tobirama frowned. Why is she blushing? I just bite-healed... wait.
He looked at her arm. Shio was extending her left limb—the only part of her body not covered in the jagged, ugly bite-marks of the Grass ninjas.
"Bite me," she whispered. "If we're going to escape, you need to be at your peak. Take my chakra. Take my life-force. Use me to become the monster we need."
Tobirama hesitated. He had never "eaten" someone's chakra like a parasite. It felt... undignified.
But looking at the Izuna-vessel—malnourished and physically lagging—he knew he needed the boost. Konoha was coming. He needed to be able to "perform" the role of a hero.
"Thank you," Tobirama said coldly. He leaned in and bit her arm.
A flood of pure, vibrant Uzumaki chakra poured into his system. His cells roared to life. His muscles, intentionally atrophied for his disguise, began to swell and tighten with new power.
Shio winced but held him close. "More... take more. I'm fine!"
Tobirama pulled away, his eyes glowing. He wiped a stray drop of blood from his lip, looking at her with a look that was no longer that of a boy.
He felt a flash of an old memory. His brother, Hashirama, used to nag him about marriage.
"Tobirama! Stop looking at scrolls! Look at Shio-chan from the main branch! She's not much to look at, but she has a great personality and she's a hard worker! Simple beauty is the best beauty!"
Tobirama had always ignored him. He found it hypocritical that Hashirama lectured him on "simple beauty" while he was busy marrying Mito Uzumaki—the most beautiful and powerful woman in the world.
Wait... Shio? Tobirama looked at the woman in front of him.
The name was the same. The "not-ugly-but-not-pretty" face was the same. The kind, overly-forgiving heart was the same.
Is the universe playing a joke on me? Tobirama wondered.
Suddenly, a series of muffled explosions echoed from the village center. The ground beneath their feet began to vibrate.
Shio gasped, her eyes darting to the window. "What's happening? Is it a riot?"
Tobirama didn't need to look. His sensory range, boosted by the fresh Uzumaki chakra, expanded like a shockwave. He felt the familiar, roaring fire of Hiruzen... the sharp, metallic pressure of Sakumo... and the golden, sparking energy of Minato.
"They're here," Tobirama whispered, a cold, predatory smile spreading across his face.
"Finally. I was starting to get bored of the chicken legs."
"Obito? What are you saying?"
"Nothing, Shio," Tobirama said, standing up and straightening his rags. His Two-Tomoe Sharingan spun with a lethal intensity.
"Just stay behind me. I'm going to go kill some 'Naturally Evil' scavengers."
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