Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Kaen didn't hear the arrow hitting the target, but he saw it. Five hundred and eighty meters. That was the distance his arrows could travel while still hitting what he wanted. The power was enough to penetrate a rock, and with wind nature chakra infused into the arrow, it didn't make any sound.

Kaen liked it. Maybe the arrows wouldn't work against jonin or higher-ranking shinobi yet, but the rest would fall under his arrows, especially if they were hit unexpectedly. His fire nature chakra-infused arrows made quite a good explosion, and he already made a few jutsu that could give enough damage to anyone to be careful of him.

As Kaen was done with his training for today, he went back to the academy and waited for Sasuke to finish his lessons. Kaen took a seat on the swings that were outside the academy entrance. He enjoyed swinging up and down. It was better than thinking about the upcoming day that was ever approaching.

"I didn't take you for someone who enjoyed swings," Shisui sat next to Kaen and said.

"You should not judge a book by its cover," Kaen replied, not slowing down his swinging.

"Are you portraying yourself as a normal kid your age?" Shisui asked. "Who would suspect a child enjoying swings to be a ruthless killer."

"I have not killed anyone," Kaen replied.

"Not yet."

"Did you want something from me other than accusing me of something that may or may not happen?"

"I only wanted to check on you. It has been some time since we saw each other," Shisui said. "And apologize that I will miss your birthday."

"It is fine. I don't celebrate it anyway."

"You should."

"Birthdays only remind me that I am one year closer to death. I don't like to think about it," And the birthdays mean it was another year since he died in a previous life. He didn't want to think about it either. "The academy is going to end its lessons soon."

"Why are you playing a babysitter?" Shisui asked. "Was it true that Fugaku-sama forced you?"

"You are asking many questions," Kaen said.

"Sorry, I only wanted to check how you were doing. But I did warn you that taking a bow as your weapon wouldn't be taken kindly."

Kaen could see there was something on Shisui's mind. Something that stressed him very much. Kaen could guess what it was, but he kept quiet about it. Kaen wanted to help, but he knew he couldn't do much. But even so, if Shisui asked for help, Kaen would do it, and Shisui probably knew it too. That's why he wouldn't ask.

"I am doing fine. I don't have much to complain about."

"You know I envy your cold and indifferent demeanor. But the more I know, the more I suspect you hide behind that kind of behavior. Some people would call you rude for not trying to remember their names or showing any respect to them, but now I suspect you knew it all along."

"Knew what?" Kaed asked.

"How Uchiha clan would end up."

"Uchiha are too prideful. They are like lions, thinking they are on the top of the food chain," Kaen replied. "It isn't hard to predict how they would act when they are caged and being controlled. It was only a matter of time before they would not be able to take it anymore."

"What would you do to keep the peace?"

"If I were you, I would let it go. Who are we to change this world? We are carnivores, killers. Nobody needs to hear our words," Kaen said coldly. "To answer the question, I would not keep the peace because I can't."

"So, will you let the world fall?"

"You mean to be consumed by humans? I don't know if you overestimate or underestimate humanity, but what we are best at is adapting to the situation. If the time comes when humanity is in bring of fall, humans will change, and if they don't, then maybe they deserve to fall."

"Maybe I was wrong about you. Maybe you are truly cold and indifferent as you portray yourself to be."

"I don't care what happens to the Uchiha. So please don't feel bad for me no matter what happens. As I won't if something happened to you."

"You lying," Shisui said. "You were always good at lying. Did you start to believe in your lies too?"

"Our conversation is over. The lessons at the academy are over," Kaen stood up as children started to leave the academy in groups. "I have to attend to my duties."

Shisui nodded and stood up, too, before leaving. Kaen found Sasuke quickly enough. A group of girls surrounded him. Sasuke looked at Kaen with hopeful eyes, but Kaen turned to look at the sky and started to whistle. Kaen waited until the girls' parents took them away before approaching Sasuke.

"You should have helped me," Sasuke complained.

"A good shinobi chooses his battles wisely."

"Hn," That was all Sasuke had to reply with.

Sasuke tried to act coldly, but Kaen could see Sasuke looking at the parents taking their children home. He looked longingly at them as children talked with their parents. Yet here he is, walking home with a babysitter, not his parents. Kaen could guess what was going on in Sasuke's head. He wondered if his parents cared about him.

"Don't you want to play with them?" Kaen asked as he walked past a few kids playing in the park.

"Hn."

"Good, then go play," Kaen picked Sasuke up and threw him at the kids watching ants.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"I thought hn, meant yes."

"It didn't."

"Then maybe use real words next time," Kaen replied. "But as you are there already, why don't you play with them? Of course, if that is okay with you both, Nara-kun, Akimichi-kun."

"How do you know us?" The sleepy-looking kid with black hair asked.

"Who else's kid would act so lazily after the academy, and who else would eat so much if it wasn't Akimichi?" Kaen asked, and the plump kid looked shocked at him before taking another bag of chips and starting to eat. "You are all in the same class. They might be your teammates in the future, Sasuke. Why don't you try befriending them now?"

"I don't have time to play around."

"But you do," Kaen replied. "You have all the time in the world."

"I am going to train," Sasuke dismissed Kaen's words and started to walk away.

Kaen quickly apologized to the kids with a slight bow and followed Sasuke. As Kaen expected, the few men walking in front of them before Kaen threw Sasuke were not far away. They waited for them. Kaen suspected them of being members of Root or maybe members of the Uchiha clan. They were observing Sasuke and him. Kaen didn't like it, but he couldn't do anything about being followed, so he let it go.

Sasuke didn't return home. He walked straight to the Uchiha compound's big pond and started practicing. He tried to perform great fireball jutsu. This jutsu was C-rank and not something a seven years old would know, yet Sasuke was close to completing it. It would be impressive if Itachi didn't learn it when he was six and Kaen himself learned it when he was five.

After half an hour of trying to perform the jutsu, Sasuke started to have problems breathing. Kaen watched as Sasuke coughed. His lungs probably felt burning. Kaen remembered when he first learned how he endured the burning in his lungs and tried again and again to master the jutsu.

"It is enough for today, Sasuke," Kaen said.

"No, I can do it."

"You can, but you will have to do it later."

"I can't. Itachi learned it when he was six. I can do it too."

"Don't try to control the fire. Let flow by itself and guide it to a shape you want with your chakra. Don't try to force it."

Sasuke didn't like to listen to him, but he still did as Kaen told him. Of course, he still failed, but this time it was closer to performing the Great fireball jutsu. After letting Sasuke try a few more times, Kaen took him by the collar and brought him back home as it was already dark.

…

Even though Kaen knew that this would happen, the guilt and pain weren't any lesser. Finding out that Shisui was dead was quite a toll for Kaen to bear. Especially when he found out about it from a trio of Uchiha who were accusing Itachi of murdering Shisui. Sasuke and Kaen witnessed Itachi's outburst.

"Sasuke, go inform your father of this," Kaen ordered.

"But what about…."

"I will take care of it, go."

Sasuke listened to Kaen and went to his father while Kaen watched as he beat three members of the police force without even letting either of them touch him. Even though all of them had three tomoe sharingan, the difference in their strength was evident. They thought Itachi was patient and wouldn't dare to attack them.

"Stop, Itachi," The captain of the police force arrived.

"It is you who should stop," Kaen interrupted before Itachi could make his next move. "As a captain, you should know well that you can't touch an ANBU member, especially accusing him of murder without evidence."

"Stay your hand, Kaen Uchiha," One of the officers said, trying to get up from the ground. "You don't even possess a sharingan. Your word means nothing."

Kaen looked at the man as he got up and dusted the dirt from his clothes. Kaen waited until he was fully ready before suddenly appearing right in front of him, grabbing his head and bashing it with his knee. Kaen lifted the man's head and put his thumbs close to the two sharingan eyes.

"You're right. I don't have a sharingan. Maybe I should take it from you."

"Let him go, Kaen," The captain of the police force put a kunai to Kaen's neck and asked.

"Even when possessing sharingan, you can't see much. It is a waste on people like you," Kaen did as he was told and let the man go.

When Fugaku arrived, he dismissed everyone. He didn't care about the officers trying to spin their tale or Kaen's actions. Fugaku looked at Itachi, and Kaen noticed a flicker of disappointment in his eyes before he left.

…

It was difficult for Kaen to set up the seals on the Uchiha compound without anyone noticing. About a year was left until that day. He knew Itachi was physically superior to him, and Kaen lacked experience fighting against other shinobi. Yet even the strongest can fall under a trap, and Kaen knew few seals that would help him.

Since Shisui's death, Kaen started to sleep less and train longer. If he weren't preparing physically, Kaen would develop ideas for new jutsu that he could integrate into his archery. He didn't spend all his savings on a bow made of chakra metal for nothing. When Kaen was out of ideas, he would watch other shinobi train and steal their jutsu.

Maybe because of anger and guilt over Shisui's death, Kaen had obtained three tomoe Sharingan. With his now more powerful sharingan, Kaen could easily see every detail of someone performing a jutsu. So, he could mimic it to near perfection, and with enough practice, he could master any jutsu.

Sometimes Kaen would feel like he was drowning in doubt. Was there nothing he could have done better? Could he not saved the clan if he had tried more? That kind of question plagued Kaen constantly. Even though he knew how the Uchiha clan was going, their pride and arrogance could not be quelled, even if he changed their mind this time.