Hey Everyone!!!
I just wanted to apologise for not making / uploading any new chapters.
I have been on holidays with my Mum, Aunty, and Nana. When I got back from holidays I came down with a really bad throat and chest infection which only cleared up 2 days ago.
Because of this I have put a bit more effort and made this chapter into double what i usually write and made it 3000 words however i decided to split this into two chapters of around 1500 each!
Enjoy the second half of the 2nd chapter today
Once again I am sorry for not posting and I hope you enjoy this chapter :)
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The walk back to the elders' quarters felt longer than usual. The afternoon heat pressed against Nao's shoulders as he crossed the inner courtyard, but his mind was elsewhere — trapped in the memory of the boy's eyes.
Kaien Uchiha. Barely three years old.
And yet… those eyes. They weren't the innocent, unguarded eyes of a child. They were assessing. Calculating. When they had met his own, Nao had felt it — the brief but unmistakable sensation of being read.
He stopped at the edge of a corridor, letting the breeze stir his robes. His pulse was still unsteady. In all his years, he had watched countless children of the clan awaken talent early — some precocious, others driven by the weight of expectation. But this was different.
The boy's chakra had felt alien. Not vast, not yet, but… dense. Alive. It had pulsed in patterns that didn't align with natural chakra flow. It shifted, he realized. It adapted.
Nao pressed a hand to his temple, trying to make sense of it. The healing — that could not be dismissed as coincidence. No Uchiha had ever displayed such regeneration. Even the strongest among them, warriors of fire and fury, were bound by human limits. But Kaien had burned himself — and his body had refused to remain injured.
That kind of instinctual correction frightened Nao more than he cared to admit. It wasn't simply talent. It was… evolution.
He resumed walking, each step heavy with calculation. The council would need to know. Fugaku would demand a full report. Yet a whisper of doubt lingered. Should I tell them everything?
Nao was no fool. He had lived through decades of clan politics — promises of loyalty, betrayal whispered in the dark, children turned into weapons for causes they barely understood. He knew what would happen to a child like Kaien if the full truth reached the council.
They would dissect him. Mould him. Use him until there was nothing left.
He paused again at the threshold of the elders' chamber. The heavy door loomed before him, carved with the clan's fan crest — the symbol of pride and destruction. The very emblem that had once inspired him now filled him with unease.
Inside, he could already sense the faint hum of chakra — other elders in quiet discussion. They would fall silent the moment he entered, waiting for his report. They trusted his eyes, his judgment. But even as his duty pressed him forward, a part of him hesitated.
If I tell them what I saw… that boy's future will no longer belong to him.
Nao closed his eyes. The memory of the flame flickering in Kaien's small hand surfaced again — not chaotic, not wild, but controlled. Purposeful. He had seen resolve in that child. Resolve that didn't belong to a mere toddler.
A low breath escaped his lips. "You remind me… of him," he murmured under his breath, thinking of Itachi. Another prodigy. Another boy who carried the clan's weight too early. And look what became of him.
When Nao opened his eyes again, they were calm, resolute. He would report the facts — but not all of them. The elders would hear of Kaien's strange chakra control, his aptitude for Fire Release, perhaps even his unshakable focus. But the healing? The adaptation? That, he would keep quiet for now.
Better that they underestimate the boy than shackle him too soon.
Straightening his robes, Nao stepped forward. The great door slid open with a quiet groan, revealing the waiting figures within. Their eyes turned to him, expectant. The air was thick with authority and suspicion — the atmosphere of every council meeting since the coup began to take root.
Nao bowed deeply.
"I bring word of the boy," he said.
A pause. Then, deliberately measured:
"He is… remarkable."
The room stirred. Questions began to rise — measured tones, probing inquiries. Nao kept his expression neutral, his answers carefully woven.
"Yes, early chakra control. Exceptional precision."
"No, I saw no sign of recklessness. He learns by watching."
"His talent is raw, but his discipline…" He hesitated, choosing his words. "…it reminds me of the old blood. The founding generation."
The murmurs deepened. Some elders exchanged approving glances; others frowned, wary. And though they pressed for more, Nao said nothing further of what had truly shaken him — the fire that had burned the boy's hand, and the flesh that had healed itself before his eyes.
When at last the meeting adjourned, Nao lingered behind, watching the light fade through the paper screens. His heart was heavy with something he could not name — dread, perhaps, or hope twisted into something else.
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Nao's footsteps echoed faintly along the polished wooden corridor, each tap a reminder of the summons that had abruptly ended his solitude. He had barely exited the elders' chamber when Fugaku's commanding voice called his name.
"Nao."
The single word carried weight, authority, and an unspoken warning. Nao froze instinctively. He had spent decades navigating the subtleties of clan hierarchy, but the sharpness behind that call pierced through all experience. He turned to see Fugaku standing at the corridor's end, his posture perfect, robes immaculate, aura heavy with the unspoken force of the clan head.
"The council is dismissed for now. Follow me," Fugaku said. The tone was casual, almost conversational, yet each syllable carried an implicit threat: refusal was not an option.
Nao obeyed silently, every step calculated, muscles taut. He kept his eyes down, but his mind raced. Fugaku was deliberate, a predator in human form, moving with measured precision. His gaze flickered over Nao now and then, piercing, as though weighing him. Every instinct Nao had learned from years of training, observation, and survival screamed caution.
They entered Fugaku's private study, a space of dark wood and paper screens etched with protective seals. The scent of sandalwood mixed with old parchment and incense, sharp and grounding. Nao noticed the subtle lines of energy tracing the screens — invisible to the untrained eye, but unmistakable to him. Fugaku had activated the room's hidden silence seals.
Almost immediately, the ambient sound of the compound fell away. The chirping of birds, the distant chatter of the servants, even the faint creak of the building itself was cut off, trapped outside the barrier. Within this bubble of absolute silence, Fugaku's presence was magnified. His aura pressed against Nao like a physical weight. The Mangekyō Sharingan hid behind his eyelids, dormant yet humming with potential energy, a silent promise that death could arrive at any moment.
Nao's pulse quickened. Every rational thought screamed retreat, yet Nao knew there was nowhere to hide.
"Sit," Fugaku commanded, motioning to a low chair across from his desk. The tone was calm, yet the sheer force behind it left no room for hesitation.
Nao remained standing, hands clasped tightly before him, aware of every movement he made. He had been summoned for a reason, and he already feared what Fugaku had sensed. The boy. Kaien.
"You spoke before the elders," Fugaku began, his voice smooth, unyielding. "And yet… I sensed hesitation."
Nao's stomach tightened. I cannot… I cannot reveal anything. Not yet. He forced a steadying breath and met Fugaku's unflinching gaze.
"I… I saw nothing beyond what I reported," Nao said carefully, his voice measured. He kept his tone calm, almost casual, hoping the words would suffice. "The boy… he is normal. Just a prodigious child, nothing more."
Fugaku's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. The quiet in the room thickened, as though the air itself were waiting. He leaned forward, his hands resting lightly on the polished surface of his desk, his presence pressing down like the weight of iron.
"Nao," Fugaku said softly, each syllable deliberate. "Do you think I cannot sense the truth when it is placed before me?"
A shiver ran down Nao's spine. His training and experience had taught him to read pressure, intention, and threat, and this was unlike anything he had ever faced. Fugaku's chakra pressed against him, subtle but undeniable, and Nao's mind raced to find a path that would preserve Kaien's secret.
"I… I only reported what I could see," Nao said, bowing slightly. "I have no other knowledge. The boy is just a child."
Fugaku's posture shifted imperceptibly. One hand lifted slowly to his face, and for a brief moment, the Mangekyō Sharingan flickered open. The red-and-black pattern blazed faintly beneath his eyelids, a subtle but unmistakable promise of the lethal power he could unleash.
Nao froze. Every instinct in his body screamed alarm. The room seemed to shrink; the silence pressed harder against his chest. If he chooses… if he wants… the thought was enough to make his fingers twitch involuntarily.
"I do not ask lightly," Fugaku continued, voice low, deliberate, and deadly calm. "You will speak the truth. Or… I can end you in an instant. No one will ever know why. No one will stop me."
Nao's throat tightened. He swallowed. His mind flashed to Kaien, the boy practicing alone, flames licking the small courtyard, the instantaneous recovery, the precision of control beyond comprehension. Forgive me…
"I…" Nao exhaled slowly, as if letting go of a burden he had carried too long. "Very well. I cannot lie. The boy… Kaien… he is unlike any other child I have observed. His injuries… they heal. Almost instantly. His control over fire is… precise beyond his age. And he adapts. Rapidly. Every movement, every technique… he seems to learn from it immediately. He is… dangerous, if mishandled."
The silence stretched between them. Fugaku's gaze sharpened, reading Nao with the precision of a hawk. Then, slowly, he leaned back, the Mangekyō fading as his mind seemed to shift elsewhere.
For a moment, Fugaku's expression softened, almost imperceptibly. He thought of his own sons — Itachi, growing ever capable, yet burdened by expectation, and Sasuke, still innocent in ways that made power a dangerous thing. Kaien was a child with a fire in him that rivalled both. Mishandled, it could destroy him or the clan. Handled poorly, wasted potential would be the cost.
Finally, Fugaku spoke, voice steady and final. "I see… Nao. Thank you for your honesty. It is a burden you should not bear lightly, but it is one you must."
Nao exhaled slowly, relief washing over him even as tension lingered. "You… will keep it secret?"
Fugaku's gaze hardened again, the edge of authority sharpening. "Yes. For now, the boy's potential must be safeguarded. He is still a child, and there are lessons he must learn in time, under careful observation. The elders, the council… even I… will ensure that he is protected and guided. His power will not be squandered. That is my promise — to him, and to the clan."
Nao bowed deeply, a mixture of awe, relief, and lingering unease swirling in his chest. The weight of responsibility settled fully on him: Kaien's secret, his safety, his future — it was all now a charge he shared with the head of the Uchiha clan.
As he exited the study, the seals deactivated, and the outside world's sounds returned. Footsteps echoed softly against the polished floors, the distant chatter of servants and children now audible once more. Nao allowed himself a quiet thought, one he would carry in the hours and days to come: Kaien's path has begun… and the world has no idea what is coming.
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Hey everyone! I just wanted everyone to know that this is my first fanfic / novel and it may not be of the best quality. However, I will put my full effort into this fanfic!
I plan on working on it for as long as I can before my exams start.
And if you have any ideas about my story, or want some things in it Comment it and let me know and ill see what I can do because any feedback is greatly appreciated and it will only help me from here on out!
So please add this to your collection because I will be adding 2 chapters every 2 - 3 days
Please gift me stones