Chapter 25: I Believe I Am Qualified
The party of three had now become a party of four with the addition of Haruka. The dynamic had shifted, filled with a new, unspoken tension and responsibility.
"From now on," Uchiha Raizen announced to his friends, "Haruka is your sister-in-law. I expect you to treat her with respect. And—"
"Hey, hey! Who are you to lay down the law?!" Uchiha Ryoken interrupted, feigning outrage. "I'm the eldest brother here! That makes her my younger sister-in-law! Right, Uchiha Natsume? You'll call her 'sister-in-law'!"
The bickering continued lightheartedly for the next ten days of travel, providing a sense of normalcy amidst their mission. Haruka, though quiet, had seamlessly taken on the role of preparing their meals, her presence a calming influence.
Finally, their destination came into view: a village nestled against a mountainside.
"Uchiha Natsume, what place is this?" Uchiha Raizen asked between bites of the rice Haruka had prepared.
"This is the territory of the Kamizuru clan," Uchiha Natsume explained, slipping into his role as the group's encyclopedia. "They are one of the most powerful insect-manipulation clans in the world, rivaled only by the Aburame. But their reliance on insects is also their weakness; their personal chakra and physical skills are underdeveloped. They've remained neutral, staying out of the major conflicts, but wars have a way of washing up on their doorstep. Unlike the Aburame, they don't have a powerful patron clan, so they're nomadic, never settling in one place for too long."
"The Kamizuru clan," Uchiha Raizen mused. "They have a unique strength. Good. They will be our first target."
"Be careful," Uchiha Natsume warned. "They're known to be stubborn. Both the Senju and others have tried to recruit them and failed."
"Stubborn is good," Uchiha Raizen said, a confident smile playing on his lips. "Stubborn clans are my favorite. Enough talk. Let's move." He handed his empty bowl back to Haruka and stood, his gaze fixed on the village ahead.
Unbeknownst to them, a tiny, almost invisible insect had been observing them for some time, its compound eyes relaying their presence back to its master.
Inside the main hall of the Kamizuru compound, the clan's patriarch, Kamizuru Budō, listened to the report from his clansman.
"Patriarch, the Uchiha are at our gates. What is our move? We must remember, the Uchiha are not like the Senju. If we reject them outright, they might…"
"Enough," Budō interrupted, his eyes closed as he processed the sensory input from his insects. "My little ones have already informed me. There are three Uchiha and a woman from the Ozawa clan. I have sensed their chakra… it is pitifully weak. Even if they are here to negotiate, they pose no threat."
"But—"
"No more. We will hear what they have to say. They are already here." Budō stood and walked calmly to the village entrance, where Uchiha Raizen and his group stood waiting.
"To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit from the esteemed Uchiha clan?" Budō asked, his tone formal and devoid of warmth.
"Patriarch Kamizuru," Uchiha Raizen began, stepping forward. "I am Uchiha Raizen, an Elder of the Uchiha clan. We are here to discuss a potential alliance."
A faint, derisive smile touched Budō's lips. The Uchiha's arrogance knows no bounds, he thought. Sending a boy and his friends to persuade us to swear fealty? They take us for fools.
"I must say," Budō replied, his voice dripping with condescension, "for the Uchiha to send only a handful of you… it makes one question if you are truly qualified to—"
"Fire Release: Cataclysm!"
Uchiha Raizen did not let him finish. He simply raised his hand. Without a single hand seal, a giant of living flame roared into existence behind him. It swung a colossal sword of fire, carving a deep, smoldering trench into the earth with a deafening roar. The heat was intense, causing the Kamizuru clansmen to stagger back.
Before the shock could even settle, Uchiha Raizen unleashed four more techniques in rapid succession—a Grand Fireball, an Extinguishing Fire, a Phoenix Sage Fire—all without any preparatory signs.
The display of raw, instantaneous power was overwhelming.
As the last embers faded, Uchiha Raizen looked directly at the stunned patriarch, his expression calm but his eyes sharp.
"I believe," he said, his voice cutting through the silence, "that I am qualified to speak with you."