Uchiha Natsume (2)

"Hinako!" Natsume yelped. She didn't expect her caretaker to appear like that. Hinako walked forward and threw the ball down. It seemed like a casual throw, but it embedded itself into the dirt. Natsume gulped because she saw the eerie smile on Hinako's face. Without saying anything, Hinako grabbed Natusme by the waist, and carried her.

A few moments earlier.

"Onii-chan!" Natsume shouted and ran ahead. Hinako was about to follow when she heard a sound next to her.

Caw!

A crow stood on the branch of the tree with a scroll in its mouth. Her expression changed and she became the cold shinobi again instead of a caretaker. She took the scroll and began reading. The contents did not surprise her as she was the one who originally reported Natsume's talent to the clan.

'Hinako, this is a personal request from me, please make sure she can survive! Talent is useless on the battlefield, only strength matters.' Uchiha Sahiro.

Hinako nodded to the crow, and it flew off to deliver the message. After, she destroyed the scroll as it contained sensitive clan information. She turned her attention to the clearing only to discover the mayhem that Natsume had started. Although she wasn't certain what had happened, it was easy to deduce based on the facts. Her pupils turned red and the three tomoe rotated around to observe Natsume.

Seeing the chakra concentrated in her legs by instinct, Hinako was very happy. However, when she turned to face her and kicked the ball with all her strength, her face scrunched up. 'Did she detect me?' However, she realized that it was just a coincidence. She grabbed the ball with ease and walked over to pick up the girl. It was time to show her the cruelty of the ninja world.

Once Hinako left the range of the complex, she began to run at her fastest speed. Natsume was not sure what was happening, but she trusted Hinako. Soon, they arrived at a rocky riverbank. Hinako wasn't gentle at all and tossed Natsume on the ground. Her dark grey kimono became dirtied as she stood and tried to wipe it off.

"Hinako, why did you do that!" Natsume was upset, but the red eyes that stared back at her made her shut up and start to get nervous. She knew about the sharingan from the adults talking, but this was her first time seeing one in person. Hinako just stared at her for a long time. The silence would have made any other three-year-old anxious and impatient, but Natsume was already more mature for her age.

"Why did you not struggle when I took you?" Hinako asked with a cold voice.

"Because I trust you!" Natusme replied immediately. Hinako made hand signs and after a puff of smoke, she turned into a fully armored shinobi of the Senju clan.

"Your useless eyes will lie to you. Only when you unlock the Uchiha's dojutsu, the sharingan, will you see the truth." She made another hand sign and two clones appeared. They surrounded Natsume and unleashed the murderous intent that had been hiding beneath the surface.

Something intangible as murderous intent normally could not be detected by someone untrained, but combined with the sharingan, Natsume was forced into a genjutsu, so it manifested. The blood red mist turned into the shape of a snake and coiled around her little body. Inside the genjutsu she was suddenly attacked by the clones. Her body was beaten by fists and legs. She tried to resist with her shallow knowledge, but it was futile.

At the edge of her strength, the genjutsu was lifted and Natsume came back to reality. Hinako was still standing there with her sharingan. She was under genjutsu the moment the eyes appeared. Natsume fell on her butt again, no longer minding the dirt and gravel.

"When you are at your weakest, captured by the enemy, what will you do?" Hinako took out a kunai and slowly approached the fallen Natsume. Her goal was to teach her a frightening lesson. The ninja world was cruel, even to children. Innocence only existed in fairy tales. However, instead of the response she expected, Natsume's expression became angry. Her chakra flowed to her hands, and she grabbed some stones next to her and threw them at Hinako.

Hinako blocked them with her kunai, but it did stop her movement. Crying, anger, frustration, shouting, even fainting were all reasonable responses in Hinako's opinion. However, she never expected the struggle to survive against an unbeatable opponent. Hinako smiled and flickered next to Natsume that was passing out from chakra exhaustion.

…

After settling Natsume down in her bed, Hinako went Sahiro's office.

Knock, knock.

"Come in." Sahiro put down the scroll he was reading.

"Sahiro-sama, I first wish to apologize." However, he waved his hand to dismiss her apology.

"It is our duty to support the clan. What news do you have?"

"Uchiha Natsume… is a genius. She will become the greatest Uchiha of her generation." Sahiro frowned. Hinako wasn't one to pay lip service and no one would dare claim to be the best in their generation openly. As he listened to her recount of the scene with the other kids and then the scene at the riverbank, Sahiro's frown eventually turned to relief.

"Hah, the young will replace the old. Utilizing her chakra at the age of three by observation… The will to survive against adversity… Truly a genius. How is she now?"

"She is asleep from over drafting her chakra. I will begin with chakra control."

"Hm, I'll leave it to you." Sahiro wasn't worried about Natsume's training. Hinako was a mid-level fighter in the clan if only her chakra reserves were considered. Yet, she was able to fight on par with the high-level fighters when it came to strategy and technique. Although her chakra control isn't as high as the clan leader and many other top-level fighters, she is certainly the best below them.

The only issue was once Natsume's mother discovered this; she would likely fall further into depression. Sahiro's hatred for the lands and the Senju clan only deepened. If not for them, his daughter could have lived much more safely within the clan's complex. He only hoped that she would become a qualified shinobi before the next full-scale battle.