Warnings: Addressed at the bottom of chapter two, and here

Beta: Cyndaquil123

Artwork is mine. Full view can be found here: https://www.deviantart.com/charredblossom16/art/Naasica-Final-772768621 

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

"Cheating out each other

Betray one another

What's the point,

When we know everything's so meaningless?

It's a deep and silent night,

I cannot hear anything

'Cause everything is fast asleep.

Now the world, so full of sin

It repeats itself again,

Such a relentless dream!"

- Sam Luff

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

Words failed me as I stared at the child in the tank. My memory of the original timeline might have been a bit off, but I knew that the child did not originally have orange eyes.

My eyes.

Kakashi and Obito were beside me. Obito sucked in a sharp breath as he quickly put the pieces together, and Kakashi placed a hand on my shoulder.

He has my eyes.

Orochimaru successfully made a mokuton user with not only Hashirama's, my grandfather, DNA... but with my own.

The desire to skin him alive was undeniable. I knew, with every fiber of my being, that I would make that worm scream for the violation he has done to me. My skin crawled, and my stomach heaved dangerously. He stole my DNA. He took my blood and he used it to create a child of my blood.

He violated me.

The spike of killing intent was impossible to hide. My hands curled into fists so tightly that they bled from my nails digging in. Chakra unintentionally oozed out of me, cracking the ground around me and shattering the glass tube that kept the child imprisoned.

Obito caught the boy as he fell forward, coughing up putrid liquid.

"This is from Orochimaru," I said, my voice tight with barely contained fury. "I am going to skin him alive, and have the nastiest human I can find violate him until he dies."

Obito adjusted the now unconscious boy in his arms, "How can you know it's Orochimaru?"

"I know," I hissed out. "Obito, take care of that child and tell Minato everything. I'm going hunting."

"I'm coming with you," Kakashi told me. "If we're really going after Orochimaru—"

"We are."

"Then you'll need back up. Obito, join us as soon as you can," Kakashi finished. "I'll leave Pakkun with you."

Obito nodded slowly, but my anger would not allow me to wait any longer.

I dashed up onto the rooftops, struggling to keep my chakra level so it wouldn't burst out and destroy my nearby surroundings. It had been an incredibly long time since I had last been filled with so much vile hatred that my chakra became unstable. Madara had taught me numerous techniques to keep a level head, but the sheer disgusting transgression Orochimaru wrought upon my very DNA—my very body—

It was a violation. He literally stole my own DNA from who the fuck knew how and he infused it into an innocent child.

Kakashi was beside me within moments, one of his ninken already summoned. "He's already caught Orochimaru's scent. It was all over the place."

"Take us to him," I ordered the dog, and it let out a soft bark before leaping across rooftops, nose down.

We raced behind the small dog, my growing anger igniting tinto a destructive bonfire. Nothing would appease my anger until I had that slimy little vermin's head mounted on a pike, and his skin turned into a rug.

I bit so hard onto my bottom lip it began to bleed, and my nails continued to dig into the palm of my hands and peel back the skin. My body was ablaze with my rage, and though I sincerely tried to keep it in check, it continued to boil over like lava.

And then we reached the edge of the village and that worm's scent went past it.

"FUCK!"

I swore so vehemently that Kakashi grimaced.

We weren't allowed to pursue anyone past the edge of the village without the Hokage's permission. Waves of killing intent rolled off me, and likely anyone else besides my teammates would have cringed and tried to move away from me from the sheer level of murderous desire I had.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

Barely an hour later, I was sitting beside a hospital bed. Kakashi and I had returned to the Hokage office where Minato and Obito were waiting for us. He immediately dispatched several ANBU squads to pursue Orochimaru, and I volunteered to go.

This was immediately rejected by Minato, my surrogate father citing that it was apparent that Orochimaru wanted me. He would have prepared for my pursuit, and only an obvious trap would be waiting for me if I chased him.

"And," Minato had added, "you now have a bigger problem to deal with."

That problem being the kiddo who now had half my DNA. A small portion of my grandfather's DNA had been mixed in, and the last remaining bit of DNA was whatever was left of his original genetic makeup.

The boy was barely older than five, frail, and had a completely shot immune system.

In other words he was an extremely vulnerable mokuton user.

This instantly warranted a heavily guarded room, but I knew for a goddamn fact Danzō would be itching to get his stupid little fat fingers on him, so I personally took over.

God fucking damn it I can't wait to kill Danzō, too, I thought with every bit of sincerity I had.

Of course for what Madara and I had planned for Danzō, the warmonger would undoubtedly prefer a torturous death.

At least that guaranteed death.

Madara and I weren't nearly so merciful.

Returning to the point, though, I sat beside his hospital bed, watching him with a narrowed gaze.

Obito had brought me several calming teas, and was currently in the progress of obtaining all the necessary paperwork to permanently release the experiment into my charge.

I debated on naming him Senju heir, too, since he had the mokuton and I certainly wasn't going to willingly bring children into this world.

But then I remembered all that responsibility and obligations forced upon me when I was his age, and I decided against doing that to him. I wouldn't wish that on a stranger, let alone a kiddo I was going to raise.

I sighed as the door opened. I looked up to find a doctor, but—

You son of a bitch, I thought with disbelief.

Owari and Zetsu already had a list of every single one of Danzō's operatives. I knew them by heart so I could easily spot one of his spies.

That cheeky, arrogant little fuck straight up sent one of his ROOT ANBU members to pose as a doctor.

"Good morning, Senju-sama," the doctor who was actually ROOT-Eagle. "I'm here to perform an examination on the patient."

I crossed my legs and folded my arms over my chest. I sat back in my chair, my eyelids slowly drooping and I mumbled, "Fine."

"Tired, Senju-sama?"

"It's been a long night," I lied, "and Obito had me drink some nasty tea."

The operative faked his laughter, approaching the child and beginning a cursory examination. I continued to fake fighting sleep, while I kept a sharp and focused gaze on his every action. I strained my senses to detect even the subtlest of suspicious movements.

If I really had been fighting sleep I would have missed the needle appearing between two of the operative's fingers.

Unfortunately for him that wasn't the case, and within a second I had already thrown my right arm out, shot out wood from it, and impaled his neck. The force continued to throw him all the way back until he hung by his neck into the wall behind him.

I stood up from my seat, withdrawing my hand but leaving my wooden stake. "Fucking idiot."

The operative tried to gargle something, but blood had already filled his lungs and he would be dead within the minute.

I walked around the bed and right up to him. I forced his jaw open, saw the tattoo on his tongue, and proceeded to rip his tongue out. I had to change my hand into sharpened wood to get the job done, but I wasn't going to let this opportunity slide.

The operative tried to scream, but no sound could be made. He died pitifully, unable to breathe. His body twitched for several seconds after his heart stopped beating, but eventually he became completely still.

I tossed the tongue onto my seat and made a clone to let Minato know we had more traitors amongst our midst.

Then I took a seat at the end of the kiddo's bed, and continued to stare at the corpse.

He's lucky there's a child here that might've woken up, I thought to myself. I had to make it quick.

I glanced over at said child, unsurprised to find him still asleep. There was a small splatter of blood on his nose and cheek, so I reached across and wiped it off.

Innocence and red simply didn't go together.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

Minato teleported directly to me, his face contorted into fear and worry. "Naa-chan, are you okay?"

I remembered the last time someone he loved had been attacked, she died.

So I stood up, gave Minato a big warm smile, and reached out and touched his shoulder. He grabbed my hand, giving it a firm squeeze as if to make sure I was really there. "I'm fine. The moron had his guard down."

Minato swung his gaze towards the hanging corpse. "You said he was a traitor?"

I withdrew my hand from him and gestured towards the severed tongue. "Take that to Hiruzen. He'll be able to tell you more about that symbol... but make sure no one else is around when you do."

Minato's brow furrowed as he looked at the tongue. "Hime, what do you know?"

"I may not be a spymaster," I lied slowly, easily, "but I've been doing my own investigations. A long time ago, while I was still a Genin, Danzō approached me. He tried to recruit me for something, but my gut instinct told me to avoid him and whatever he was planning. For a while I let it be, but after I got Jōnin I began to look into him... Well, I don't want to bias your own investigations, but let's just say he has some suspicious activity."

Minato turned back to face me fully, his expression grave. "Naasica, Danzō is a highly respected member of Konoha."

I lowered my gaze demurely, knotting my fingers together in a fake nervous tic. "Sensei... Sensei... that night... that night that Nee-chan died..."

"You know I can't talk about that with you," Minato told me softly, as kindly as he could, even as pain laced his voice.

"It's not well known that a jinchūriki's seal is weakened during child birth," I murmured, "but did you know that Danzō was trained by Hashirama? Did you know my grandmother taught him fūinjutsu?"

Brittle, unbearably cold silence filled the room. Minato's entire demeanor shifted as pieces slowly began to fall into place. The only sign of cold fury that could easily detected was the way his breath hitched.

"Danzō," Minato said slowly, forcibly, "is a valued member of Konoha."

"Who has been after your position for decades, and operates his own private military force," I told him honestly, biting my bottom lip and feigning concern. "That mark... that's his mark, Sensei. Take it to Hiruzen... he'll tell you everything. But, please, be careful. If Danzō finds out-"

For the briefest second, as I explained to Minato what I knew, killing intent so sharp and intense leaked out of him. It was enough to make me instinctively take a step back and I had to resist the urge to draw upon my Sharingan and take a defensive stance.

But it was gone too soon, and Minato had his back turned to me, his fists clenched tightly. "Hime... I think that you were tired. You were so tired, and hurt, and angry over what has happened tonight that you went a little too far on the person who tried to attack you. I think he's damaged beyond recognition."

I licked my lips. "Should I seek counsel to help calm me down?"

"Inoichi will be available, I'm sure, to help you through this. Obito, and Kakashi should be able to watch over the child while you take care of yourself."

"Yes, Sensei."

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

Throwing Kirigakure into civil war was pathetically easy.

All I had to do was get Yagura alone, ensnare him with Madara's Sharingan long enough to bring him back to the cave where Madara would implant control seals on him... and viola. We gave him a blanket order to purge all kekkei genkai users and throw Kirigakure into civil war.

He really only required weekly checkups in person, since Zetsu was able to keep an eye on him and steer him in the direction we wanted.

So for the most part I let Kirigakure fall apart, but...

Well, there were a couple people I kept a personal close eye on. And I still had to be the one in person to rescue the children of kekkei genkai families to provide them "safe haven" in Amegakure.

I had to build Owari's reputation, after all.

One of those valuable shinobi was none other than Kisame, and the moment I knew he was ready to listen to me, listen to the Akatsuki... I struck.

This poor, tired young man who had to kill every single one of his comrades. This child soldier who never was given the chance for companionship.

When he had finally reached his breaking point, when he finally killed his precious senses and took Samehada for himself, I knew it was time to save him.

"I've watched you," I whispered from the shadows to Kisame, as the man gripped his legendary sharks in sword for the first time. "A man forced into a wretched world. Tell me, Kisame, how does it feel to have to kill everyone you love? What is like to have to murder your own comrades and become so embroiled in darkness and hatred?"

Kisame slowly turned around to face me, a humorless grin on his face. "You sound like you know, stranger."

"I do," I admitted. "And I hate it."

The smile stretched further across his face, but there was no warmth.

Only bitterness.

"That can change," I told him softly, "I am changing the world, Kisame. I will destroy this current lie of peace we live in, and bring forth a genuine utopia. There will be no more wars. There will be no more betrayals. There will be no more lies."

"Pretty words for someone who hides in the shadow," Kisame remarked, and I smiled.

"Only in the shadows are people like you and me safe," I told him, brushing my hair out from behind my eyes. I allowed my Sharingan to come to life so Kisame could see its glow in the darkness. Then I stepped out and into the light.

Recognition immediately dawned on his face. "Senju... Naasica? But you have a Sharingan...?" Understanding flickered in his eyes. "The Mizukage really is being controlled by someone else, isn't he?" Kisame's shoulders shook as he started laughing with pained bitterness. "All this time... all this insanity and bloodshed... it's because of you."

"It's because of this world," I corrected, approaching him. I held out my hand to him. "Kisame, you and I have both seen the truth of human nature, and how disgusting this world really is. It needs to change. Join me, and I swear to you we will create a worth without lies, or pain."

"You're not acting on behalf of Konoha," Kisame said quietly. "You are... serious?"

"I swear to you. I will bring you to my master, Uchiha Madara, and we will explain everything to you. I will not lie to you, Kisame," I sincerely promised him.

"And if I say no?"

"You won't."

Kisame laughed once again, but this time not nearly as bitter. "Alright. You win. I'll join you, hime."

He took my hand, and I pulled him into the darkness.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

"Konan, Nagato, allow me to introduce you all to my comrade," I said, bringing Kisame forth. I itched to readjust my mask as Owari, but decided against doing so in their presence. "When the Akatsuki is formed, Kisame will be my partner. We will hunt the eight and nine tailed beasts."

Kisame had a wide grin on his face, baring his sharp teeth. "Please to meet you."

"Welcome to the Akatsuki," Konan greeted coolly. "It is odd to find one like yourself interested in peace."

"I've been through enough wars," Kisame admitted, "I'm tired of the constant deception and how rotten this world has become."

Sensing the sincerity in that statement, both Nagato and Konan softened slightly.

"Then you were right to join us," Nagato intoned, his voice barely above a whisper. "We will purge this diseased world and bring forth a new, brighter, and better future."

Kisame nodded his head. "That's what I wanted to hear."

Kisame and I then left so I could show him around Amegakure and where he would be staying. As soon as we left the building he asked me, "Do they know who you are?"

"Only you," I admitted to him.

"I'm honored," he said, but I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

"I told you," I said, words tumbling out of my mouth from what was left of my blackened heart, "I will never lie to you."

For reasons I didn't entirely understand this made him almost stumble in his next step. When I glanced back to look at him curiously I saw the oddest smile on his face.

"Then I suppose I better not give you any reason to."

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

"Oh... oh it is you."

I stopped on the streets of Amegakure, disguised as Owari. Slowly, I turned back around, curious as to who had called out to me. The streets were mostly empty this time of night, but to my surprise a young man—or, no, an old child?—stood waiting for me. He was leaning heavily on a walking stick, his eyes bandaged over.

"May I help you?" I inquired politely. Owari was not someone who was unkind to the citizens of Amegakure, after all. He was known as their Black Angel, righteously protecting everyone.

"You saved me years ago," he said, "you saved all of us... That man might have taken my eyes, but I'm a chakra sensor. I would know your chakra from anywhere."

That... was odd. The seals placed behind Owari's mask were meant to hide my naturally "lethargic" chakra. If he was able to feel through those seals, he would have to be incredibly sensitive to chakra.

But wait, if he knew who I was—!

The man dropped to his knees. "Thank you... thank you. I thought no one would ever come for me, in that awful place. You saved me... you saved my sister, my friends... all of us... I wanted to find you and thank you, but you were hard to find. I found others that you had saved, though. We're all so grateful."

I was frozen.

I could detect no lie in this man's voice, only plain sincerity as he openly wept. I searched my memories for him until—

He was the victim of the first monster.

Yes, oh, yes I remembered now. That monster had raped, beaten, starved, and tortured him and so very many other young boys. Their village had been destroyed in the war, and he had preyed upon their vulnerability, offering to help them find new homes.

The monster had gouged out all of the victims' eyes when he was done.

I broke the monster, and I healed each victim as best as I could. Only a few were able to survive, however, and those few I dropped off in a nearby village that was out of the war's path.

My heart twisted in sympathy with this child. Not only did he lose his family, but he lost...

"That is my purpose," I told him kindly, kneeling down and gently touching his shoulder. "I will always hunt down monsters, and I will do everything I can to make this world better. A world without victims, or monsters."

The boy looked up at me, his face twisting as the barest hint of hope touched him. "A world with no monsters? You will destroy them all?"

"I will," I swore, "The Akatsuki will do this."

A shudder ran through him, and he whispered, mostly to himself, "Will the monsters be gone even in my dreams?"

"I will destroy every monster. They will never touch you again, as long as you remain here," I promised him with all the tenderness I had left to give. "Amegakure is safe, child."

"I had—I had hoped," he whimpered, "they said a masked angel had descended upon here... we all hoped..."

"There are others?"

"You saved so many of us. We all wanted to thank you... we couldn't find you, though... we..." the child folded in upon himself. "We were scared."

Watching a child break before your eyes was a different kind of pain. It ate up inside of my gut, and strung out my heart. I couldn't resist pulling him close and comforting him like a mother might do.

Who else would do so?

He cried in my arms, this child no older than fourteen, and I soothed him as best I could.

If I wanted to make this world a better place, what kind of person would I be if ignored someone like him? Someone who was so thoroughly victimized by this wretched place? When the sobs and hiccups died down, I asked him, "Will you take me to the others?"

"Yes! Th-They want to thank you, too."

I smiled behind my mask. "I want to reassure them that they're someplace safe now. No one will ever harm you here."

"Thank you... thank you... I swear... we'll do e-everything we can t-to help."

"I know," I told him, "because you know exactly why the world needs to change. Tell me, child, what is your name?"

"Kurisu," he whispered, "I—I have a younger s-sister, though. H-Her name is Guren."

Guren.

For some reason the name made me think of crystals, turtles... and a flower?

Whatever. I'll meet her soon enough, I suppose.

"Because y-you saved me... my s-sister a-almost starved, but y-you saved me s-so I could save her," Kurisu started to sniffle again, trembling in my arms.

"Hush, child," I comforted him. "Let's get you out of the rain, shall we?"

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

"How should I repent?

How can I atone

For the evil I have done?

Who is it, the person,

The one to forgive me when I forgive none?"

Sam Luff

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

With Kirigakure thrown into complete chaos the civil war only escalated.

In the original version of Naruto, the civil ended when the rebellion overthrew Yagura. Kirigakure was forced into a state of constant repair, and the new Mizukage, Mei, worked tirelessly to try and better Kirigakure.

That did not happen here.

Perhaps I was crueler than Tobi.

Or perhaps I was simply more thorough.

Tobi didn't care to make people needlessly suffer. He only wanted Kirigakure to suffer for Rin's death, and to keep one of the major villages busy while he prepared the Akatsuki.

I saw no reason to allow Kirigakure to continue. They served no purpose, really.

I had a much better use of their people.

Each child with a kekkei genkai was rescued by a masked man that others would come to call as the Black Angel.

Owari.

I, as Owari, saved these people when no one else would lift a finger. I faked some of the children's death—of course I was tragically too late for many of their parents—and brought them to Amegakure where the brainwashing and grooming began.

Here in Ame they were safe.

Here in Ame they were loved.

Here in Ame, the Angels and God watched over them.

Here in Ame, they would grow strong.

Here in Ame, they would learn how to save the world.

I wasn't exclusive about children, though. There were some promising shinobi and kunoichi that I rescued and released. I wanted some reputation built up, after all, and if some of those valiant warriors chose to follow me instead...

Well, who was I to refuse their loyalty?

Once I had sucked Kirigakure dry of its resources and valued bodies, I, as Owari, slaughtered Yagura in defense of humanity. An unsung hero, I saved the people and liberated them of Yagura and his loyalists.

But this also meant the end of Kirigakure, and the Great Five now became the Great Four.

The poor water daimyo and his ilk began to scramble to hire mercenaries and other lowlifes to fill the power vacuum.

By the time Kirigakure came to a close, it was time to focus my attentions on the capital.

Nebu had served his purpose and I had manipulated Mo to hate his father, and adore me.

Your father has become a villain, I whispered in Mo's ear. Won't you become the hero your people deserve?

Mo rose to the occasion with a fervor, delighting in severing his "evil" father's head from his body.

His sweet mothers wept until he chopped off their heads, too.

With his ascension to the throne, and Mo thoroughly wrapped around my finger, maneuvering politics in the Land of Fire had become a breeze.

After that, it was time for a little... family reunion for Madara.

The Uchiha Clan, with their precious Sharingan, would be immune to the genjutsu, after all. They simply couldn't be allowed to live.

It was so easy to keep planting little clues to make Minato believe the Uchiha and Danzō played a role in Kushina's death. A little fake evidence here, a little story there...

And when the Uchiha decided throw a coup all on their own, that was icing on the cake!

They had to be dealt with, and so did Danzō.

Why not take care of them both?

It was an utter bloodbath, and I reveled in it.

The rest of the years passed by pleasantly. The Akatsuki continued to grow in strength, and Ame doubled in size as it took in Kirigakure refugees. The hunt for Orochimaru continued, but the bastard was keen on never being caught.

There were some more, subtle changes made to differentiate our world from canonical.

Indeed, by the time we reached the start of the end... it was like a whole new world.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

ELEVEN

YEARS

LATER

I drummed my fingers on the kitchen table, thinking about how much Hidan was a pain in my ass and maybe I should have killed him. I knew how to: starve him to death.

But damn it, he really was the only person I could partner with Kakuzu. The miser was too valuable for the Akatsuki to get rid of, too, because he knew how to twist finance around like you wouldn't believe. He's made things essentially cost half as much as they would without him. The only downside was that he had an awful tendency of killing his own partners out of irritation.

Hidan was extremely hard to kill, and as long as Kakuzu didn't figure out how to kill Hidan then we had a good partnership.

Well, maybe not good, but they got the job done.

Why can't everyone be like Kisame? I thought for the millionth time. My partner was perfect. Literally. Could not ask for anyone better.

While I adored Obito and Kakashi, Kisame was a hundred times easier to work with.

Mostly because I didn't have to hide anything with him, but also because of how incredibly efficient and easy going he was. Obito and Kakashi would still bicker like old maids at times, and Obito was easy to get riled up.

"Shishō?" Itachi inquired quietly, gently setting down a cup of warm tea. "Are you okay?"

Pulled out of my thoughts, I smiled warmly at Itachi. "Yes, sorry."

Itachi gave me a small smile as he took a seat at our kitchen table. Ever since he, Shisui, and Sasuke moved in after the massacre (since Obito became their only living guardian) the sweet child practically lived in the kitchen. He had an honest talent for cooking and baking, and he thoroughly enjoyed it.

I might have trained him to be a shinobi—indeed he reached Jōnin at ten which made his father inordinately proud—but for the past several years he's taken less and less missions.

He actually hadn't taken a mission at all this past year as a shinobi, choosing instead to begin working in a small bakery. I obviously encouraged him to keep up with exercise to stay healthy, but I would never, ever force someone into this kind of career.

Obito, Kakashi, Minato, and I all encouraged Itachi to follow his heart. We would support him whatever job he chose.

Even if that meant instead of being a top-notch shinobi he became a world-class chef.

Not that I could blame him much for wanting a change in career, anyway. He was always a peaceful soul, and in another lifetime he would have been a pure pacifist. The horrors of the massacre, and the truth behind it all—

"Shishō... why... why?!" Itachi cries out, his eyes shining. "Why did you do this? This wasn't—this wasn't your mission!"

Tears started to spill over his eyes, waterfalls of despair and anguish. Itachi trembled as he staggered towards me, dressed in his ANBU gear without the mask.

I reached for him, the blood and guts of his family still covering me. I wiped at his tears and I said with every bit of warmth and love I had left inside of my nearly dead heart, "My sweet boy... I fight to protect those like you from having to give up their light. I fight every day to make sure no one else has to join me. How could I standby and watch you do this? Itachi... I love you like you were my own little brother."

His knees buckled and he fell into my arms, sobbing and crying. He cried in relief. He cried in grief. He cried in pain.

I held him, blood still dripping down from me.

I could hardly blame him for wanting to be done with this awful, awful world.

"Naruto and Sasuke are taking the graduation exam today," Itachi remarked, placing a plate filled with steaming buns on the table.

"Yes," I agreed. "How could I forget when they woke everyone up at four to go to school early and 'get it out of the way.'"

"Why they would think anyone was at the school that early is beyond me," Itachi said, shaking his head and taking a seat across from me.

"Who knows what goes on in their heads?" I mused.

Obito hopped into the kitchen, carrying bags and bags of junk. Er, celebration party stuff, I mean. "I'm ho-ome!"

"Welcome home," Itachi and I greeted him.

Raion followed in after Obito, his bicolored eyes looking around the kitchen. On top of his orange eye, he had inherited my unruly, curly dark brown hair. When he grew it out it looked like a proper lion's mane, so we named him Raion. Sadly, my fellow mokuton user didn't enjoy the comparison and kept his hair as short as possible in a vain attempt to control it. "It smells really good in here. What did you make, Itachi?"

Itachi perked up at that, a very subtle and small smile on his face as he proudly said, "I'm making rolled tea cake with puff balls."

Raion grinned cheerfully at that, his demeanor very much like Obito's without the clumsiness. "That sounds great! I bet they'll come out perfect. You've already filled up the whole compound with the smell, you know. I could smell it the moment we crossed the gates."

That got a small, cute smile out of Itachi.

The Senju Compound—and Clan—had expanded over this past decade. After the Uchiha massacre its last remaining survivors had nowhere to go. Obito was unceremoniously thrusted forward as the new Clan Head, but my dear teammate simply couldn't handle the position. He was stressed, in terrible grief—even if he was not close to his clan, he still grew up with them and cared for them—and overwhelmed. Considering the only survivors were all children, too, he became a guardian on top of it all.

Taking pity upon my friend, I suggested he disbanded the Uchiha Clan and they could all live under Senju. I would protect each of them from any political pressure, and handle all the duties.

Obito barely thought about it for a minute before he accepted.

Obito, Itachi, Sasuke, and Shisui promptly integrated into the Senju Clan as my wards.

Due to this large surplus, we had to open up yet another wing in the compound and set everyone up.

This also included forcing three of them into therapy, and since they were children under my charge I could enforce that. Thankfully all three of them eventually came to accept the offered help, and within a couple years after the massacre they showed noticeable improvement.

I think it really helped that none of them participated, or saw, the massacre.

Itachi, because I took care of it.

Sasuke, who had stayed the night at Naruto's.

Shisui, because he had been kidnapped and held captive. He had no memory of anything at all during those three days, and was found shortly afterwards.

"I got the meat for the barbeque!" called out Shisui as he came into our home. Dressed in his doctor uniform, complete with his lab coat—he likely only recently finished his shift—with a hitai-ate pulled down to cover one of his eyes, the optimistic ex-Uchiha gave everyone a big grin. "Smells great in here, Itachi!"

With him now home that meant that nearly all of the last remaining Uchiha were here. Only Sasuke, who was at school, was not there.

I leaned back in my seat, letting out a soft sigh. "I suppose since everyone's here now we should begin."

"Are we not waiting for Kakashi?" Raion asked, confused. After he set down his bags he adjusted his civilian clothes: a long sleeved black turtleneck, with dark orange thick pants, and comfortable black sandals.

"Kakashi is helping Minato catch up on some paperwork so Minato can be here for the party," I explained. "Come along now, children, surely the five of us is plenty?"

Shisui gave me two thumbs up. "Heck yeah! I'll get the meat seasoned up so it'll be ready to grill."

"I'll work on the banners and decoration," Obito declared, eagerly digging through one of his numerous bags he had brought.

"I'll get the plates and stuff set up."

"I'll go finish wrapping the gifts, I guess," I concluded, "but after that I need to finish up some paperwork for the next council meeting."

Everyone grimaced at that, giving me a look of pity.

"I'm so happy I disbanded the Uchiha Clan," Obito sighed with relief. "Thanks for taking us in, oh fearless Clan Leader!"

"Yeah thanks for doing all the paperwork and politics for us," Shisui added, saluting me.

Itachi blinked once, slowly. "Thank you for going to the boring meetings for us."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled, shooting Raion a smug look who was looking absolutely dejected. "Don't look so down, Raion! This'll all be yours soon enough."

"Please don't," he moaned. "Can I give my heir position to Naruto?"

"Nope."

"I was ten! I didn't realize what it would mean to be a clan heir," Raion tried to argue for himself.

My grin only stretched wider. "What a shame."

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

"Congratulations!"

We all cheered as Sasuke, Naruto, and Minato came home that night, the two twelve year olds wearing big triumphant grins and proudly holding up their new hitai-ates. Naruto was bouncing up and down, his eyes shining like the sky, and he exclaimed, "One step closer to being the biggest legend this world has ever seen!"

Minato affectionately ruffled Naruto's hair. The Hokage has aged well this past decade, retaining much of his charm. The only signs of his age were the tips of silver hair starting to grow on top of his head. "Easy there, kiddo. Still a long way off."

"Yeah, your genjutsu is atrocious," Sasuke said, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "You can't even do a simple clone."

"Shadow Clone is more than enough," Naruto argued. "Right, Tou-chan?"

"You still need to work on your chakra control," Minato said, "but that will come with time. Now let's go, I'm sure everyone is eager to celebrate with you."

Sasuke hurried over to Itachi's side, colliding with his older brother. Itachi pulled Sasuke in for a tight hug, whispering something in his ear. Shisui came up from behind and hugged both of them, causing Sasuke to laugh and try to squirm out.

Naruto jumped up to me, barreling his face into my stomach and wrapping his arms around me. I bent down to kiss the top of his head, patting his back. "Well done, my little sunshine."

Obito mimicked Shisui and hugged both of us. "Yeah, we couldn't be prouder, you little brat!"

"Eheheh!" Naruto was positively beaming under all the praise. Kakashi, not one for hugs, decided to reach forward and tap Naruto's head.

"Good job, pup," Kakashi said. "I'm proud of you for not killing your classmate, too."

"It was really hard," Naruto complained, "they're all so stupid."

"Naruto," Minato warened. "What did I say about calling your future comrades stupid?"

"Not to? But Nee-chan does it all the time."

I shrugged unrepentantly as Minato rolled his eyes. "Oops."

"Your sister is a mean demon princess, you can't follow her lead unless you also wanna be a demon," Obito explained to Naruto, a chirp in his tone.

There was a general consensus of agreement and I pretended to be offended. "I am not a demon!"

They gave me a flat look of disbelief.

"Okay maybe a little bit," I allowed.

Raion clapped his hands together. "Let's head out back to the grill now. Everyone's probably hungry, and while we make the food Naruto and Sasuke can open presents."

Naruto let out a big whoop, while Sasuke beamed.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

The party went on until midnight and then we shuffled the boys off to bed, both still anxious to start their big shinobi careers in the next couple of days.

Afterwards the rest of us headed back down to the kitchen to unwind with warm tea, and some of Itachi's delightful snacks.

"Well, I guess now's a good a time as any to talk about team assignments," Minato remarked.

"Aren't you supposed to gather all the Jōnin who apply for a team and discuss it there?" Shisui questioned, leaning back in his chair as he chewed on a stick of pocky.

"And I will tomorrow, but," Minato said slowly, gesturing towards his own team, "these three get first picks."

"Blatant favoritism?" Raion guessed, half-amused.

"More like they're the only ones that can take on an idea I've had formulating for a while," Minato corrected, taking a sip from his tea. His lips twitched afterwards and he admitted, "but maybe a little favoritism, too. The only ones that have really been decided is that Naasica will take Naruto, and Obito will take Sasuke."

That was obvious. Only myself and Raion would have been suitable teachers for Naruto, and Raion was still acting as ANBU captain, and gearing to replace the current ANBU Commander. Raion's work on purging Konoha of ROOT had given him a legendary status amongst his colleagues, but he was still too young to take on the role of Commander.

Itachi had quit the shinobi force, and Shisui was nearly out of it himself, too. Since his kidnapping, and family massacre, the cheerful soul decided to spend the rest of his life healing others. He started training as an iryo-nin, and began taking shifts as a doctor at the main shinobi hospital. He rarely went out on missions, choosing instead to save as many lives as he could at home.

That really left only Obito who could, and would, devote time for Sasuke to learn how to utilize his Sharingan when the child activated it.

I fiddled with the long sleeves of my battle kimono, my fingers running along the silky smooth material.

It was Kushina's last gift to me. She designed it herself, with me in mind, and when I was done growing she and Minato would order it special made for me.

Minato held on to the blueprint all these years, and when I hit eighteen he had it specially made for me. It wasn't too different from her past choices for me. It was a proper battle kimono with the colors of the sunset, and beautiful red and orange flowers trailing down the end, and one covering my left breast.

The shoulders were kept exposed, and the sleeves had a wide opening at the top and bottom—they were long enough the very ends of the sleeves fell passed my knees and made it very easy to hide weapons inside. The kimono itself fell at my mid thighs, and I wore black leggings that ended at my knees underneath them, along with tall black kunoichi boots.

Underneath my kimono was a black shirt exactly like from my childhood. I kept my hair long, like Madara's, and I wore it up in either a ponytail or bun, with traditional hair sticks inside like Mito's.

All in all, I truly looked like an elegant, beautiful kunoichi. The effect was befitting someone of my status, and power.

The fact that it reminded me so much of Kushina that it warmed my heart helped, too.

It was just like her: bright, and beautiful.

I had proudly worn this outfit—making several others in case it became destroyed—and treated it with great care.

Anyone who dared to even bleed on it regretted it deeply.

Minato fished out a scroll from his pocket, placing it on the table and releasing the contents from inside of it. Dozens of folders appeared on our table, each one belonging to a different student who had passed the graduation exam.

Since the changes in the academy—thanks to mine, Minato's, and Obito's efforts—each students of this generation had been entered at the age of six. Due to this extra two years of training there was now an equal proportion of civilian graduates as there were clan-born.

These students also had to master the basic three, tree walking, and have a beginner's mastery (as in D-Rank or above) in one specialized skill.

Naruto, for example, was learning fūinjutsu. It was only natural given his heritage. He was at a solid C-Rank, but in terms of sheer instinctive creativity I'd place him at a low A-Rank. He had a few other tricks up his sleeve, but he only put down fūinjutsu on record, preferring to keep everything else close to his chest like a proper shinobi.

Sasuke, on the flipside, had worked hard to obtain his C-Rank of swordsmanship, and genjutsu.

Minato cleared his throat. "I selected you three especially for this experiment I want to try. You three make up one of Konoha's strongest units. Your teamwork is impeccable; you fight together, you live together, you're victorious together, and I suspect you will probably die together."

Kakashi responded dryly, "I hope not. I already get enough of these two, I don't want to have to deal with them in an afterlife."

Obito and I lightly hit Kakashi. He just took it easily, remaining perfectly stock-still and seemingly uncaring; however, after knowing him for so long, I could easily see the bemused spark in his eyes.

With a smile still on my face, I turned back to Minato and inquired, "So what do you want to experiment with us?"

"I want," Minato said carefully, "to have three teachers teach three teams... as one."

"What," Kakashi deadpanned.

"If all three of you pass your team," Minato went on, "then I want all three of you to work together and train the next generation together. Normally, one sensei would be assigned one team to work with. Individually, you are all excellent shinobi, but together you're something even greater. I want you to drill that lesson into this next generation. Each of you will technically have a team, but you will all work together as one."

"You want... us... to drill teamwork into nine different fresh Genin?" I repeated blankly. "As in... we pool them all together and work them as one team?"

Minato cocked his head. "Sort of. I want you to rotate and switch up the members of your team frequently. I want all of them to be able to work fluently with one another, and to really bring out the potential. It's been proven time, and time again, that while a shinobi—or kunoichi—can stand tall on their own, they are always more effective when working smoothly with team members. I want you to bring that about for this generation. Instead of just one team being superior to the others, I want three teams.

"I can't entrust this to any other shinobi, aside you three. No one else in Konoha has worked as smoothly and efficiently as you three do together. If anyone can instill teamwork into this generation, bring about their potential, and really make this generation shine... it's you three... together," Minato finished.

"Wow, no pressure," I lamented.

Minato smiled, while Obito laughed cheerfully. "Aw, jeez, Sensei, thanks. We got this in the bag, easy-peezy. So, uh, which lucky nine students shall we take under our wing?"

"That's for you to decide," Minato said. "Go ahead and take a look at the folders."

Kakashi, Obito, and I all reached for separate files and began to flip through them. Only a handful caught my attention, and by the time I had gone through them all, I had my preference set.

"Alright who gets to go first?" Obito asked brightly. "Rock, paper, scissors?"

"I have better idea: I want Sakura and Hinata," I said, picking up their two folders. "Sakura has a natural talent for academia, an eidetic memory, and specialized skill in genjutsu, C-Rank. Hinata, as Hyūga heiress, ranks as the top kunoichi for taijutsu, remarkable cooperative personality, and a specialized skill set in botany, ranking at a solid B."

"Wait, did you just say a Hyūga with a skill in botany?" Shisui snickered. "How does that happen?"

"Hiashi's wife, Hisana, was an ANBU assassin," I pointed out. "She was adept at poisons, doubling her effectiveness at close range with her gentle fist. Plus, you know... an assassin that uses gentle first makes it a bit obvious who the killer is, isn't it?"

Shisui inclined his head to me. "Point. So you think Hisana taught her?"

"More than likely," Minato said. "I forced her into early retirement around the time Hinata started attending the academy. The village was in a good state, there wasn't a need for her to keep taking such high risk missions."

"Still," Obito mused, "a Hyūga who used poisons, too? Talk about a nightmare in close range."

"I think it sounds like fun," I said cheerfully.

"You would," Kakashi and Obito muttered.

"Any objections?" I questioned, "or do I get them without a fight?"

Obito scratched his cheek, chewing on his bottom lip thoughtfully. "To be honest I wanted Sakura, too. I was thinking about building a hunting team, and her talent in genjutsu would have been nice."

"But you already have Sasuke, and we both know he worships Itachi too much not to specialize in genjutsu," I argued. "If you have nothing but genjutsu specialists then your team will be too overstacked."

Obito waved me off. "Fine, take her."

"Thank you, I will."

"I'll take... Shino, and, hmm..." Obito peered through the folders again. "Ino."

"Why?" Minato questioned, wanting to hear Obito's reasons behind these choices."

"Shino's got an eidetic memory, and a calm personality. He's got a C-Rank in tracking, and it's noted he has a natural talent for strategy and advanced planning. I think he'd mesh well with Sasuke, to be honest. Ino's stats are actually rather poor, but she's at B-Rank in cryptology, C in intelligence gathering, and has begun an apprenticeship under her father for psychology. Her weakness in taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu are things that I can work on, but her talent in the other fields makes her invaluable for a hunting team. It's also noted that she requested to work with Sasuke, so I bet she'll get along with the team just fine."

Minato smiled at Obito. "It's good that you have a strong idea in mind for your team already, but don't spend the whole time focusing on one build."

"Yeah, I mean," Kakashi looked around the table, "we weren't exactly a specialized team."

"Actually you were," Minato chuckled, "you were marked down as soft honey pots due to Naasica's talent in politics."

"Ew," Obito said, looking at me in distaste. "How dare you drag us into a honeypot team."

"I'm the only reason you're still on a team, dead last," I taunted.

Kakashi clapped his hands together. "Alright. My turn. I'm taking Shikamaru, Chōji, and Kiba. Shikamaru because I owe his father a favor, Chōji because the academy reports they're essentially a packaged deal, and Kiba because I'm one of the few outside of his clan that can teach him how to work with ninkin."

"Wait, you owe Shikaku a favor?" I questioned. "For what?"

"He looked into something for me," Kakashi responded, "and his wife wanted their son to have an instructor that wouldn't let Shikamaru get away with his laziness. Win-win."

"What did you need looked into?" Obito questioned, frowning. "And how come you didn't ask us? We're great at investigating!"

"Wasn't that kind of investigation," Kakashi said, "So, we'll grab everyone tomorrow afternoon, assess them, and discuss plans for them in the evening?"

I nodded. "Sounds good."

"Sweet. Let's beat up some twelve year olds," Obito declared with a cheer.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

When the night wore on and the children slipped into pleasant dreams, I left.

I reappeared soon enough in Amegakure, at the roof of one of the towers. This room I had made special for my dearest companion, and the man I respected and trusted more than anyone else in this world.

Madara Uchiha rested inside a stasis coffin, his corpse perfectly preserved and awaiting for when I would revive him with the Rinnegan in three years.

I had filled his room with my trees, flowers, and beautiful plants I had discovered over the years. His precious weapons adorned every branch, and only the barest of light was allowed inside this room of perfect darkness.

Not that he would be aware of all I had done for a while longer.

I could resurrect him through the imperfect technique of Unholy Resurrection, but there was no need for that. My master had been alive and awake for so very many years, I wanted to let him rest as long as I could before bringing him back into this disgusting world.

Besides, there was no real need for him at the moment. When the Akatsuki was finished forming and we began our hunt for the tailed beasts, I would bring him back.

Despite the fact that I knew logically there was no reason for Madara to be forced to stay any longer in this putrid world...

I still missed him.

At times of great importance, or when I felt overly stressed, I came here to his resting place and I drew comfort in his presence.

"Why am I not surprised to find you here?" a voice drawled from behind me.

Only three others were allowed up here. Konan, Nagato, and Kisame.

Konan and Nagato never had reason to visit Madara, and Kisame only ever came for me.

Of course my partner stood at the doorway, grin on his face. Kisame stepped into the room, his Akatsuki cloak open and flowing behind him. "Yo."

"Hey," I said, smiling with genuine affection. "Aha, am I that obvious?"

"Today Naruto's graduated, right?"

"Yes."

"Then yeah, you're that obvious," Kisame said, nodding his head. "Need to talk?"

I let out a long sigh, dropping my shoulders. "No, I'm fine. I've had years to prepare for what is to come."

Kisame shrugged his shoulders, approaching me until he stood barely a foot away. "Wanna hunt some monsters?"

My smile twisted a little. "You always know how to make me feel better."

"You make it easy," Kisame returned, reaching around and resting his arm around my shoulders. "C'mon. I've already got the perfect one picked out for you."

I giggled at that.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

I decided to be a prick and pick up my team that morning. Technically the rest of the Jōnin would be applying for their own children this morning and the team assignments wouldn't be given out until noon, at which point the teachers would make an announcement.

But I already had my team—with the Hokage's stamp of approval on it, too—and I wanted to give a more thorough assessment. So I waited for classes to start up for about ten minutes before I strolled right into the academy and headed towards Naruto's class.

I swung open the front door, and stepped inside, startling many of the students and causing Naruto's poor teacher (Iruka) stare at me with such a baffled expression. "S-Senju-sama!"

"I'm here to pick up my little meat bags," I told him with a sweet smile, holding out the paperwork. "That's okay, right?"

"I-I can hardly refuse," Iruka stammered out, accepting the paperwork. He eyeballed it real quick before turning back to the class and saying, "Naruto, Sakura, Hinata... all three of you please go with Senju-sama."

"Fuck," Naruto said, staring with abject horror at my bullwhip that I kept squarely on my right hip. My tessen was kept inside the sleeves of my kimono.

"Move, brats," I ordered. "All of you with me, now."

The three scrambled to gather their things, Naruto practically sprinting to reach me. The sweet boy was crossed between terrified, and positively ecstatic. He proudly wore the new outfit and gear we got him last night. A sleeveless orange vest with a high collar, thick military-grade black pants, and black arm guards with gloves that went up to his elbow. Inside of his vest he was able to keep twelve to twenty (depending on their sizes) scrolls of his own creation. Strapped onto his back, across his shoulder, was Kakashi's gift to Naruto: a customized tanto blade.

Hinata was the next to show up, proudly displaying the seal on her forehead.

It wasn't the Caged Bird seal, or whatever that sadistic shit was, but a new deviation that Minato had invented specifically for the Hyūga clan at Hiashi's request. All shinobi with dōjutsus had the option of having the seal—and they could choose where it was placed, so they could hide it—but the Hyūga clan made it mandatory that all of their clan members had it. It was a painless, efficient seal, that burned the eyes to the point of uselessness upon brain death.

The seal looked reminiscent of a pale silver crown, and Hinata—like her father and sister—wore it proudly on her forehead.

Something about being a symbol of equality between the branches, or something like that. I didn't pay much attention to the Hyūga internal affairs since it didn't really affect me.

Honestly the only reason I even knew that much was because Minato complained about how much of a headache the whole thing was. I guess some of the stodgy old bastards in the main branch threatened seppuku if it went through.

They were bluffing apparently.

No one died, sadly.

She reminded me a lot about her mother, actually, from the way she held herself. She favored a lilac-colored sleeveless hoodie that she wore over a long-sleeved black shirt. She had thick black pants that fell a little past her knees, and standard shinobi sandals. I noticed the thick black gloves she wore, and gave a mental note of approval. Too many kunoichi seemed hesitant to wear gloves early on because it was unlady like.

Morons.

Her hair was cropped short, and thusly kept out of the way.

If she was anything like her mother, she likely had plenty of senbon stashed away on her person, each laced with a different poison.

The last member of the team was the civilian born girl, and someone I knew I'd have to take a special interest in.

Unlike Naruto and Hinata, this tiny little child barely had any meat on her bones. A literal flick of my finger would send the girl careening through walls.

She wore a long red dress with slits on either side, and a pair of dark blue kunoichi pants underneath. I couldn't see any obvious weapon pouches, or... well, really anything of note about her.

She was clearly at an unhealthy weight for a kunoichi her age, and everything about her screamed dainty.

That's certainly not going to last long, I thought. By the time I'm through with her she'll be a proper kunoichi, ready to rip out the spine of her enemies and use it as a whip.

I had to admit I certainly liked the enthusiastic gleam in her eyes when she looked at me. Like a puppy looking at its new master.

This'll be fun, I thought with delight, resisting the urge to do my "evil princess laughter."

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

This is the last outfit change for Naasica since she's officially done growing. Hooray! 

To confirm who lives at the Senju Compound and ages:

Naasica – Age: 26

Kakashi – Age: 26

Obito – Age: 26

Minato – Age: 37

Raion (AKA Tenzou / Yamato) – Age: 17

Shisui – Age 18

Itachi – Age: 17

Naruto – Age: 12

Sasuke – Age: 12

A lot has happened in the past decade, and I'm eager for you all to see the changes she has made to the storyline. This first chapter only gives a taste, so get ready for some pleasant surprises!

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE STORY - Will delete this after I post the next chapter.

This will also be placed on the bottom of chapter 2 warnings next to where I said this story would be AU.

I am re-writing the warnings to be more clear, and to add how this story will be AU at the start.

This is also a spoiler for the ending of Naruto Shippuden, so be warned.

WARNINGS: Please read these warnings below before reading. If you do, or not, then proceed to complain about one of said warnings your review/comment will be removed and you will be blocked. This is not a story for the light hearted.

1. This story is AU. When I started this story Kaguya did not exist. The canonical version of the moon's eye plan had not been revealed, and many of us believed that it would be an overlay. As in everyone would continue to eat, move, and sleep on their own, but they would see things that weren't there, and believe that they were real.

Essentially like permanently hallucinating. It would not pull people inside of a demon tree to suck out their life force at all.

After much debating with myself, I have decided to stick with my original plan for the story and cut out Kaguya entirely. This story's background is completely AU.

So:

There is no Kaguya sealed in the moon. She existed, but she died and will stay in history. She wasn't even intended to be endgame but Kishimoto literally admitted he couldn't think of any other way to kill Madara. So... bye alien lady.

There is no black zetsu. Fuck that deus ex machima bull shit.

The genjutsu causes mass hallucination and does not kill people. They will operate normally but simply see things that are not there.

2. This story contains the following triggers as scenes that will be written out: Violence, child endangerment, murder, gore, threats, manipulation, and massacres.

3. This story contains the following triggers that will be referenced but NOT explicitly written out (as in I will state such and such happened, but I will not write it out step by step): Child abuse, rape, molestation, torture, and suicide

4. This story will NOT have any lemons or limes, or decided pairings outside of canon for a very long time. This is mostly gen-focused with a proper villain OC. If this OC were to enter into any relationship, it will be near the end when she is a full grown adult, and the same will be said for all other characters.

5. This will contain a powerful OC, not someone weak, or average.

6. If you do not want to read a master/servant relationship do not read this.

7. If you do not want to read about a descent into insanity, do not read this.

8. If you do not want to read about a character who will lie, trick, manipulate, and murder to get her way, do not read this.

9. If you are not prepared for the "bad guys" to potentially win, do not read this story.

10. If you are not prepared to read about human brutality and "monsters" of humanity, do not read this story.

Answer: Being able to manipulate reality as I see fit. Absolute power, I suppose, would be my motive. Why? Because I want to visit and live in all these fantastical worlds from stories I've come to love.

Question: Movie for being a hero? Who, or what, would you want to save more than anything in this world?

Big beautiful fanart by MissNanamiChan on deviantART that features Naasica, Kushina, and baby Naruto. It's really, really wonderful, and I think it's a great encapulation of Naasica's mindset. Check it out if you can!

https://www.deviantart.com/missnanamichan/art/Paint-the-World-RED-Rotted-Rowan-770490121

Reviews are love!