Naruto: Threads of Crimson

Walking around the bustling streets of Konoha, Shisui and I found ourselves in a heated debate over what to eat for lunch.

Just yesterday my father had left on that mission and while covering my unease about it, Shisui still caught it and read me like a book so he decided to get me out of my house for a couple of hours to get my mind off of it.

"I'm telling you, the ramen at Ichiraku's is unbeatable," Shisui insisted, his eyes gleaming with enthusiasm.

I rolled my eyes, more out of habit than disagreement. "Ramen is good, but have you tried the grilled fish at the new place by the river? It's amazing."

"Fish? Come on, Shiro. Ramen is the best thing around this area! You can't keep your energy up with just fish!"

I smirked at Shisui's stubbornness, already gearing up for another retort, when something strange caught our attention. As we rounded a corner near the bathhouses, a peculiar sight stopped us in our tracks. There, crouched behind some bushes, was a tall, white-haired man peering over the fence at the women's bathhouse.

Both of us stared, wide-eyed, a mix of confusion and mild disgust settling in.

"What the—?" I muttered under my breath, still trying to process what I was seeing.

Shisui frowned, equally bewildered. "Why would anyone…? Is he just watching them? In the bathhouse?"

I squinted at the man, trying to place him. His absurdly long white hair and the giant scroll on his back stood out. He looked familiar, but I couldn't figure out from where.

Shisui shot me a glance, his brow furrowed slightly. I could tell he was thinking the same thing I was—this situation was way too bizarre to just walk away from.

Without speaking, we silently came to an agreement.

"Let's see what this guy is up to," I whispered, already forming a few hand seals. Shisui nodded, crouching low as we slipped into the cover of a nearby bush. From our vantage point, we could watch him head-on without being seen.

I cast a simple genjutsu on the man and looked into Shisui's eyes so he could see the illusion as well. In his mind, the women he was spying on "noticed" him. But instead of screaming or throwing objects his way, they smiled and beckoned him over, inviting him into the hot springs like honored company.

The moment the genjutsu settled over him, his entire demeanor shifted. His eyes glazed over, and his body went slack.

Without a second thought, the man jumped over the fence, his movements clumsy but eager. "They noticed me! I knew my charm wouldn't go unnoticed forever!" he muttered, his voice loud and brimming with enthusiasm.

Shisui and I exchanged looks, barely holding in our laughter. "I can't believe he fell for that," Shisui whispered, a grin splitting his face as we walked in front of the man caught in a genjutsu.

Inside the illusion, the man was completely immersed. His goofy grin stretched ear to ear as he reclined in the imaginary hot springs, surrounded by women who cooed and fawned over him. He acted as if he belonged there, his laugh echoing in the fabricated reality.

Shisui and I shared another glance, our silent amusement turning to mischief. It was time to take things up a notch.

Through the illusion, I had the women's sweet, melodic voices shift ever so slightly. They began to probe him with questions, their tone still playful but now laced with curiosity.

"Why were you peeping on us?"

"Who are you?"

"Why are you wasting time with this instead of doing something productive?"

The man's grin faltered, a brief flicker of confusion crossing his face. He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could get a word out, his chakra surged and flared like nothing I'd ever felt before.

It was overwhelming, an immense power that dwarfed anything I had encountered up until now. I felt the shift immediately—the sheer intensity of his chakra blew through my genjutsu as if it were nothing more than a faint breeze.

Within a heartbeat, the real world snapped back into focus for him. The illusion vanished, and he was back where he had started—standing behind the fence, crouched in the bushes. But now, he was staring directly at Shisui and me who stood in front of him.

Shisui and I froze, eyes wide as we met his gaze. The man seemed slightly taken aback, his confusion quickly turning into something more intrigued as he realized what had just happened.

"Did you just put me in a—" he began, his tone both curious and slightly impressed.

Before he could finish, Shisui, quick on his feet as always, raised his arms and began waving them back and forth wildly. "Uh… Police!" he called out, his voice a bit too loud in his panic.

Within moments, two Uchiha police officers appeared, their expressions shifting from mild concern to confusion as they took in the scene. One of them, clearly the senior officer, stepped forward, his eyes flicking between Shisui, me, and the white-haired man.

"What's the matter here?" the officer asked, his gaze resting on us, though I could tell he was already suspicious of the man hiding in the bushes.

I pointed at the man, still somewhat in disbelief that anyone would be caught doing something so weird. "He was… peeping on the women's bathhouse."

The officers' eyes widened as they saw the scroll and red markings on his face and registered who the "peeper" was. Both of them sweatdropped at the sight of Jiraiya, their expressions caught between disbelief and resignation.

"Lord Jiraiya..." one of the officers began, his tone exhausted. "Again? You've only been in the village for three days and it's already the fifth incident."

Jiraiya just grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, well, you see… it's all research for my next novel."

"Yeah yeah, I'm sure it's all for research." The police officers exchanged tired, knowing looks. One of them let out a sigh and turned to us. "Run along, you two," he said, addressing Shisui and me. "We'll handle this, unfortunately."

Jiraiya chuckled nervously under their stern glares as the other officer added, "And thanks for calling us, but… next time you see this white hair, you don't need to get involved. Just... ignore it, okay?" Shisui and I nodded in unison, still trying to wrap our heads around the situation's absurdity.

As we walked away, Shisui broke the silence. "Well, that was something.

"Yeah," I replied, shaking my head. "I guess everyone has their own quirks."

We walked on, letting the strangeness fade from our minds as our stomachs growled in unison. "So, Kaikaya's?" I suggested, trying to steer us back to our original conversation.

Shisui grinned. "No way!"

-------------

One of the Uchiha officers pinched the bridge of his nose as he saw the two young talents walk away. Sighing heavily he turned back to Jiraiya, who was still grinning sheepishly like a naughty child caught in the act. "Lord Jiraiya," the officer began, his voice laced with exasperation, "you really can't keep doing this, especially not so... obviously."

The other officer nodded in agreement, his tone sterner. "If you're going to be... uh, conducting 'research' for your novels, at least be discreet. It's bad enough that two of our seven-year-old kids caught you."

Jiraiya froze, his grin faltering as his eyes widened. "Wait... seven? You're telling me those two kids that pulled a genjutsu on me were only seven?"

The officers exchanged glances before one of them raised his tired eyebrows at him. "Yes, Lord Jiraiya. Shiro and Shisui are seven. Uchiha prodigies, of course, but still seven."

Jiraiya stared at them, dumbfounded. "They're only kids, and one of them managed to trap me in a genjutsu?" He blinked, shaking his head. "Man, the Uchiha Clan really doesn't mess around, do they?"

The officer, still looking unimpressed, crossed his arms. "They may be prodigies, but this isn't about them. What's important is that you need to be more careful next time. In this kind of situation, we can't have you getting caught by children."

Jiraiya's sheepish grin returned, though it was much smaller this time. "Noted, noted. Less obvious next time. Got it." He raised a hand in a half-hearted salute.

The officer sighed again, clearly done with the situation. "Good. Now get out of here before more people notice."

--------------

"Come on Shisui, Kaikaya's is amazing. It's new, fresh, something you haven't tried yet, and will fill you up for the day."

He groaned. "You know I love ramen. I don't see why we need to go somewhere else when we can have a guaranteed great hearty meal."

I sighed dramatically, throwing my hands up. "Oh, sure, stick to ramen. I mean, it's only the same thing you've had like a thousand times in a row. I swear to kami, it's like you got ramen for brains sometimes."

Shisui gave me a sidelong look. "The same thing because it's perfect every time."

"Yeah, perfect," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Nothing says adventure like ramen again. Why try something new and delicious when you can have the same old noodles in soup? So exciting!"

Shisui's eyes narrowed as he realized what I was doing, but I could see the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You're being sarcastic."

I smirked. "Nooo, of course not. I'm just saying, why would anyone want to explore new places when you can play it safe with ramen forever? It's not like we only have one life or whatever."

He let out a long sigh, looking defeated. "Fine, fine. We'll go to the fish place, but if it's terrible, I'm never letting you pick again."

I grinned, triumphant. "Deal."

Shisui looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "You owe me ramen after this, you know."

"Only if the fish isn't good," I shot back.

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, but I could tell he was already softening to the idea.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Far away in the Hidden Village of the Stones, a different conversation was taking place.

The enemy shinobi who had escaped from the battle knelt before the Tsuchikage, Onoki. His body was battered and bruised, his comrades lost, but he had survived. His face was pale, not just from the injuries he bore, but from the weight of what he was about to report.

"Report," Onoki said, his voice sharp and commanding, his small stature giving no indication of the immense power he held.

The shinobi bowed lower, his voice trembling slightly. "We were ambushed on our way back… by a squad that consisted of two Uchiha boys and a Yamanaka clanswoman. They were only seven years old, but their strength was far beyond their age."

Onoki raised an eyebrow, leaning forward in his chair. "Uchiha boys? Go on."

The shinobi swallowed hard, disbelief still lingering in his mind even after the battle. "One of them, his speed was at least chunin level if not pushing special jonin level, his name was Shisui. He used the Body Flicker Technique with such precision that my subordinates didn't stand a chance. Before we even knew what happened, two members of our squad were down."

Onoki's eyes narrowed. "And the other?"

The shinobi's voice dropped lower, filled with unease. "He was… dangerous. His mastery of genjutsu was terrifying, and I believe I heard his name was Shiro. It was subtle, almost unnoticeable until it was too late. He got inside our heads and made us distrust each other. At one point, we attacked our own, thinking they were enemies. He even created a double-layered genjutsu. Not many can do that—certainly not a seven-year-old."

Onoki leaned back, his hand stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Two Uchiha prodigies, then? Interesting. We haven't seen Uchiha of such caliber in some time. And they're only seven?"

The shinobi nodded, his expression grim. "Yes, Lord Tsuchikage."

For a moment, the room was quiet. Onoki, though aged and wizened, was not one to underestimate threats, especially not from Konoha's Uchiha Clan, lest he forget about his previous encounters with ninja-like Madara. Still, the idea that children could pose such a risk was almost laughable. Almost.

He sighed, brushing off the immediate concern but keeping his mind focused. "They are young. Their talent, while impressive, is not enough to shift the balance of power. Not yet, at least."

Onoki turned his head slightly toward his bodyguard, Kitsuchi, who stood at attention by his side. "Add these two Uchiha boys to our record book and keep an eye out for them. If spotted, target them and eliminate the two of them while they're still young. Also get a sketch of the two from Ashir so we can include it next to their names and descriptions."

Kitsuchi nodded, making a mental note of the names and descriptions he was to register in their village's record book of noteworthy ninja.

Turning back to the exhausted shinobi before him, Onoki's expression softened ever so slightly. "You've done well to report this. Go and rest. We'll deal with these Uchiha in time. You needn't concern yourself with them any longer."

The shinobi, trembling with exhaustion and a sense of relief, bowed deeply before staggering out of the room. Onoki watched him leave, then glanced at Kitsuchi.

"Prodigies or not," Onoki muttered under his breath, "the Uchiha always have a way of getting out of hand. Better to get ahead of the problem sooner rather than later." 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Back in Konoha, after our strange encounter with the snow-haired man and a satisfying meal at the new fish restaurant, Shisui and I made our way back to the Uchiha compound. The late afternoon sun was dipping low in the sky, casting long shadows over the village, and I couldn't help but feel smug about my food victory.

"I told you it was going to have delicious fish," I said, grinning as I put an arm around Shisui's shoulders. "You should trust me more on food decisions. You're way too quick to shut down any kind of adventure."

Shisui scoffed but kept his gaze straight ahead, clearly trying to avoid admitting defeat. "Yeah, yeah, it was good," he muttered, kicking a loose pebble on the ground his voice picking up as he continued. "But I still think ramen would've been just as satisfying."

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, you know you loved it. That grilled fish was amazing. Be honest, Ichiraku's doesn't even compare."

He glanced at me, smirking but still not giving in. "Ichiraku's has history and reputation, it was built during the Second Shinobi War and is beloved by practically anyone that's ever visited. You can't just ignore years of perfect ramen for one good fish meal."

"You just can't admit I was right this time!" I laughed, crossing my arms. "Just say it, Shisui. 'Shiro, you were right. That fish was awesome.' You'll feel better after."

Shisui shook his head, still pretending to be stubborn. "Not a chance. But… I'll admit it wasn't terrible."

I snorted. "That's as close as I'm going to get from you, isn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Shisui grinned, clearly amused with himself.

As we continued walking, our banter quieted for a moment, and my mind drifted back to earlier, to the bizarre scene with the white-haired man peeping at the bathhouse. The question had been bothering me ever since.

"Hey, Shisui," I began, my tone shifting to something more serious. "Why do you think he seemed so excited to be doing that? I mean, isn't that just… gross? Who would want to see another person naked? Let alone a girl?"

Shisui furrowed his brow, looking as puzzled as I felt. He shook his head back and forth. "I have no idea. It's not like there was anything of value he gained from it. He could've been learning a new jutsu or training instead of… whatever that was."

"Right?" I nodded, still trying to make sense of it all. "What a weird guy. I just don't get why anyone would waste their time doing something like that."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

(A/N: Jiriya appearance!! A nice slice-of-life chapter with some of the consequences of the last mission that happened. This is the first recognition that either of them has received that is outside of the village but trust me there is much more to come. The next couple of chapters will wrap up the mission Kaito was sent on.) 

Powerstone Goals:

25 by Sunday = Extra Chapter

50 by Sunday = 2 Extra Chapters