Chapter 2

Rain fell quietly down on Akai Tategami Mountain.

The dark clouds covered the sky, plunging the Mountain into an early nighttime, wind blew softly, crashing into the rain.

The Mountain itself was the highest peak in all of Akai Tategami, it was home to much of the noble Ōtsutsuki, far up in the clouds where the earth and sky met, dozens of tiny light shone in the darkness, proof of the Mountains residents.

In the middle of the Mountain city, at the very peak of the Mountain was a magnificent pavilion. Here the gods all stood, mingling amongst themselves. A grand gala was to take place, which would last for a week. This was simply the precursor to the actual party, were they gods would speak on what they'd seen in the fighting pits.

"Such outstanding talents I saw, if we keep trending upwards like this, it will only be a matter of time before we begin to rival the Shuiro no Tategami." One bold Ōtsutsuki said, laughing obnoxiously.

He gulped down on a glass of wine, before grabbing another and downing the glass in another go.

Surrounding him were a couple others, who formed a loose circle around him, unlike him they seemed to be vigilant, not even letting the festivities carry them away from their task. They wore no armor nor carried any weapons as was required when attending these sometimes 'passionate' events.

The large obnoxious man was Uzumi Ōtsutsuki, the Lord Patriarch's right hand and the general commander of the armies of Akai Tategami. He like all the Ōtsutsuki had the byakugan. On his forehead was a slit and a bump behind the slit indicating the presence of the well sought after Rinnegan.

Of all the Ōtsutsuki in Akai Tategami only he and the Patriarch had the famous eye of the Ōtsutsuki clan.

"Don't act the fool Uzumi," Scolded Matsunagi Ōtsutsuki, an advisor to Nishi, "If word of your treasonous ambitions reached the court of Shuiro no Tategami we'll have no choice but to give you up, Rinnegan or no Rinnegan."

A cloud of anger passed over Uzumi's face, if there was one thing he didn't like, it was being threatened. 

"And who exactly will be handing me over to them?" He asked with a sneer, "You?" 

Matsunagi was no warrior, thin stick-like frame with finger too long and clumsy to handle a weapon well, he'd rose on account of his mind, which Nishi had valued highly enough to grant him right to the god-trees fruits.

It was no secret that Uzumi despised him for such weakness, and considered it to be an afront, that such an individual was granted such rights.

"No," Interrupted a voice, "I will." It was Nishi himself, he was tall, though not as tall as Uzumi. But that mattered little to both the other gods and Uzumi, in terms of power, the Patriarch loomed over him just enough to earn his fear.

The two stared into each others eyes, lavender eye meeting lavender. Tensions rose as the two behemoths of the clan came to impasse. Then Uzumi gave a bark of laughter, before backing up a step to bow. He signaled to the others surrounding him, and he and they left to go raid the Pavilions snack bar, not before flashing a all too wide smile at Matsunagi.

Sigh of relief could be heard from the crowd and the atmosphere loosened up. Noise of discussion rose up again.

"I thank you Patriarch." Matsunagi bowed, "I'm afraid Uzumi is beginning to grow even more unbearable."

Nishi nodded at the thanks but chose not to answer the second part, truth be told, he felt as though Matsunagi was right. Uzumi has always been a particularly talented man.

Had I been his equal in age and not his senior, he would have long overtaken me, even now he still is quite the problem. Perhaps I would not have any problem with that, if it were anyone else, but Uzumi had always been brash. The commander was not stupid, in fact far from it, he was very smart, he just lacked wisdom. And a fool with too much power has been the death of many a clan.

Nishi lacked the proper powerbase to deal with Uzumi in any true way, and the General knew that. It was impossible for a clan to rely on only one Rinnegan user without eventually being wiped out by the surrounding clans.

Even with the alliance with the great clan; Shuiro no Tategami. Nishi knew he could not afford to show even a moments weakness, else they might decide that the alliance to them is worthless and seek to own their region directly.

And so like every other time, complaints about Uzumi is brought before him, he simply nodded and said, "I will handle it."

His words meant well, but deep down everyone heard the robotic tone that came from fruitlessly repeating the same sentence enough times.

Matsunagi cleared his throat, before lowering to whisper "Although he might have been quite brash in his words, there might be some truth to them. The boy has shown some promise."

Nishi glanced at him, glad for the change of subject, "You think he might waken the Rinnegan?"

"He shown the signs of a great possibility." Matsunagi answered.

You have to understand, Ōtsutsuki tended to live for a long time, with their long lifespan, they typically took things slower than a human would with their short time. Due to his past life as a human, Shizukana was used to such a relatively fast paced lifestyle, jumping into the fray, to learn as much as he could while battling the myriad of chakra beasts, continuously honing his skills with a seemingly addict level focus. When in actuality it was mildly chill for a human.

"Nishi-sama, I would advice that it be best to keep him close, if Uzumi gets to him first and his assessment proves to be true, it might spell an end for the clan." 

"I must not be seen showing favoritism," Nishi answered, shaking his head, "But you may ask Osaki-san to take him under his wing and to keep him far away from Uzumi."

Matsunagi bowed, "It will be done Lord Patriarch."

Not long after, night came and the Ōtsutsuki left for their own residence in the mountain. Nishi still stood in the Pavilion overlooking the landscape, lost in his thoughts. The wind whipped through the Pavilion, fluttering his robes.

He took in a deep breath of air, remarking on how fresh it felt, all around him there was complete silence, except for the pitter patter of the light rain.

He sighed, looking up towards the heavens, 'Father, is this how you felt at the start of your clan. Did you feel as I do, uncertain, always questioning myself? Or were you truly as unbothered as you appeared to be?'

Soon they would welcome the new Otsutsuki into their midst, and if he truly was as talented as he was reported to be, then no doubt he would make waves within the clan, though whether it would serve to strengthen the clan or destroy it, Nishi did not know.