Under the veil of night, two black-cloaked figures moved silently through the narrow chasms between Konoha's buildings. The alleys were littered with scraps and crawling with insects and small animals feasting on the refuse. Yet the two figures passed undisturbed, their presence barely registering.
Uchiha Fukashi, cloaked in a large black mantle, glanced at his son, smaller, but dressed identically.
They wore the cover cloaks once used by the Uchiha during the Warring Clans Era. Woven from silkworms infused with Yin-natured chakra and sealed with chakra-suppression techniques, the cloaks rendered their signatures nearly undetectable, comparable to small animals. Most sensor techniques ignored such low-level signals to avoid overwhelming the user's mind.
The Hyuga clan still resided in Konoha, but Byakugan use within the village was discouraged unless under direct threat.
Fukashi watched Shinichi's small back as they moved toward the southern gate.
'Shinichi… when did you grow so much? Already thinking of solutions for this foolish father…'
His eyes reddened slightly. He didn't know what Shinichi had been doing during his house arrest. Only whispers and rumors from passing clansmen reached him.
They spoke of Shinichi's genius. Of a training method disguised as play. Of children laughing while unknowingly strengthening their bodies. Parents discussed it constantly. Some even considered homeschooling their children, wary of sending them to the Konoha Ninja Academy, which was a joint project between the Senju and Uchiha.
The Uchiha had paid half the funding, but Hashirama had simply clapped his hands and summoned the building with a Mokuton.
'Now that I think about it… did we get ripped off?!'
Fukashi chuckled quietly, pride swelling in his chest.
He was undoubtably a lucky man. A lucky father.
---
They reached the southern gate. The sun had set, but a few villagers still passed through. Most were returning home. Fukashi and Shinichi waited patiently.
Then they saw it, a cart full of hay, junk, and litter heading out of Konoha.
Shinichi's eyes gleamed. He glanced at his father. Fukashi understood instantly.
He scooped Shinichi up and leapt into the cart.
Moments later, the cart rocked and bumped along the road.
"Ji-chan, where are you going this late?" came a youthful voice, one of the gate sentries.
"Hmm? Oh? I forgot to take this out earlier. Took a nap today." Replied a frail old voice.
"It's dangerous at night. How about tomorrow?"
"Don't worry. It's just ten minutes away. Besides, with Hokage-sama around, who'd dare cause trouble near Konoha? I haven't seen a single bandit in last twenty years."
Hashirama's reputation was legendary. Merciful to villagers, ruthless to criminals. His presence alone deterred war and crime across Land of Fire.
"Then I'll accompany you."
Fukashi and Shinichi's hearts skipped a beat.
"Oh? You will? Hmm… It's just ten minutes. What if your captain checks on you while you're gone? If you're okay with punishment, then by all means…"
"Ah! That.. I…"
"It's fine, young man. I'll be back before you know it. If I'm not back in an hour, send someone."
"An hour?"
"An hour?"
"Well, the cart won't just unload itself?"
"Ah! Okay okay. Safe trip!"
The cart resumed its journey, rocking and shaking down the road.
Three minutes later, Fukashi and Shinichi silently slipped out.
"Phew~! That was too close!" Fukashi whispered, exhaling.
Those few minutes had felt like an eternity.
"Okay. Let's move."
Fukashi hoisted Shinichi onto his back and began shunshining across the treetops, heading north – toward the chakra signature he'd sensed earlier.
With his Sharingan, he could se it clearly now.
Far in the distance, glowing orange against the night sky –
The Nine-Tails
***
Fukashi hurried with desperation and anticipation.
KUWUAAAANGGG!!!!!!
"Sensei…"
A bright red explosion lit the horizon, like a small sun flaring and vanishing in an instant.
Smoke cleared.
A navy-blue Susanoo-clad Nine-Tails emerged, towering and menancing.
Shinichi, clinging to his father's back, activated his Sharingan and watched in awe.
'This… is what chakra can achieve. If I had this power back then… with my energy capacity…'
'No! I am Uchiha Shinichi now. It's not too late. As long as I can protect my family.'
---
They reached the edge of a double-layered crater, surrounded by shattered mountains and wooden hand-like structures. Madara had already moved further north.
Suddenly, Fukashi felt a pressure on his shoulder.
"Dad, let me down. And please catch your breath."
He hadn't realized he was sweating, his breathing erratic. Emotion had overtaken reason. His chakra was not exhausted, but in a disarray. A foreboding sense gnawed at him; something terrible was about to happen.
Fukashi closed is eyes and steadied himself with meditation.
"Dad, look!"
Shinichi pointed. Another explosion erupted in the distance.
'That's near the border of the Land of Fire… Are they redrawing the map tonight?'
"Let's go."
Fukashi stood, ready to carry Shinichi again; but his son had already moved ahead.
'Shunshin? No… that was an afterimage?'
Shinichi had shunshined northward, toward the explosion.
Over the past two years, Shinichi had trained relentlessly. His body, once too fragile to handle chakra, now supported it ease. He studied his father's chakra flow during shunshin and recalled the movement technique form his past life – kusajouhibo (草上飛步: grass-top-fly-walk = to fly above the grass).
He began to merge the two.
'What an amazing feeling… Chakra. even without my old physique, I can recreate Kusajouhi just by applying chakra to my feet. It's still crude… but after today, I'll explore chakra more deeply.
kusajouhibo (草上飛步: grass-top-fly-walk = to fly above the grass) was a silent, instantaneous movement technique used by the Imperial Knight Order, undetectable to naked eye and imperceivable without advanced clairvoyance. But it was pure taijutsu.
Shunshin, by contrast, was chakra-based movement technique.
The fusion was imperfect. Each step left cracked footprints. The pressure on his legs was immense.
Still, Shinichi pressed forward. His technique improving every step.
Eventually, he slowed as Fukashi caught up and carried him again. Fukashi didn't ask about the technique. He trusted Shinichi would explain when he is ready.
Then came another explosion, much larger than before.
The shockwave nearly knocked Fukashi off balance. Forests, mountains, everything around the epicenter was flattened.
Only two figures remained:
The half-armored Nine-Tails.
The Wooden Buddha.
Fukashi rushed through the debris.
'This time… I'll reach him. I'll save him.'
Madara had been his hero. His savior. And his teacher.
He had taught Fukashi ruthlessly but earnestly. Introduced him to Minami. Led him to Sosuke. Everything Fukashi had – his strength, his family, and his place in the clan – was thanks to Madara.
Now, as a father himself, Fukashi understood a fraction of Madara's pain. The loss of family. The weight of despair. He couldn't fathom what it would feel like for him to lose Shinichi, Kaito, or Minami.
Just for this moment, he had removed Tobirama's Hiraishin marks weeks ago and arranged Setsuna and other to distract him.
He was ready.
But as his sensei always said–
Nothing goes as planned.