Naruto: It Could Be Worse... It Always Could, Part 3.

The next year came, and tensions kept escalating as usual. Now, almost half of the Uchiha clan wanted to rebel. Itachi's promotion to ANBU squad leader initially calmed the clan down, recognizing Hiruzen's sincerity toward the Uchiha. However, over time, the relationship between the extremist faction and Itachi became the wedge that shattered this sincerity.

What initially appeared to be a move to favor the Uchiha by positioning Itachi as a potential future Hokage, soon turned into suspicion. Itachi's killing of Shisui Uchiha made it seem like Hiruzen had simply promoted his own plant within the clan.

But Sayaka no longer cared. She had already marked all the babies and only needed to mark the new ones. With spare chakra from her would-be assassins, she had also marked Mikoto and Izumi's mother. Confident she had her bases covered, she turned a blind eye to the Uchiha-KC4 stupidity.

'Should I mark Fugaku?'

|He's so insignificant in your life that it probably doesn't matter. Maybe mark him so Mikoto won't be sad later.|

'I know, but since no one else besides Itachi and Obito has a Mangekyō Sharingan, I don't think many people could kill him.'

|Jiraiya, the Rinnegan puppet, the Tsuchikage, and the Raikage—if he's as good as his father—could kill him.|

'I get that, but I was thinking of people involved in the coup d'état. Pervert Kid is too busy stalking Snake Kid, and the Kage wouldn't target Fugaku unless he takes over Konohagakure and war breaks out. The Rinnegan puppet won't come near the village until they're ready for the grumpy fox.'

|In that case, you do have a point.|

'Yeah, that's why I'm unsure about marking him.'

|Mark him anyway, for Mikoto's sake. We marked Sasuke even though he's Indra's reincarnation.|

'Okay, you're right. I should also mark Naruto, Hinata, Hanabi, and their parents.'

Sayaka waited, as usual, for Naruto and Hinata to finish their school day, but this time, three additional kids followed them.

"Sayaka-chan, let's go eat dango with ice cream at my house."- Hinata said.

"Oh, did Nozomi give permission?"- Sayaka asked, glancing at the three extras. By now, she and Naruto practically had a free pass to Hinata's home.

"Yes."- Hinata nodded, her friendship with Naruto and Sayaka working wonders for her shyness.

"Then let's go."- Sayaka said before turning to the new kids. "Hello, I'm Sayaka Uchiha. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi, Sayaka-chan! You already know me. These are Chōji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara, my friends."- Ino introduced them.

"You must be Shikaku's son, right?"- Sayaka asked Shikamaru.

"... Yes. How do you know my father?"- Shikamaru asked, recognizing her familiarity with his father's name.

"The Hokage likes to accuse me of crimes without evidence. A few times, Shikaku's been called as a witness. That's also how I met Ino's father."

"..."

"..."

Shikamaru's mind stammered, and Chōji paused mid-chip.

Hinata and Naruto, however, were used to the trouble Sayaka stirred.

"WHAT?!"- Ino shouted.

"I also met Chōji-kun's father once. We had an eating contest at Yakiniku Q. I lost that one—it's impossible to fit that much food in my belly, no matter how fast my stomach processes it."- Sayaka said dejectedly.

"Father is unbeatable in eating contests!"- Chōji exclaimed proudly.

"No, that's not the point. Why were you summoned to Hokage-sama's office, and why were our fathers called as witnesses?"- Ino asked, curiosity and concern evident. Shikamaru and Chōji nodded in support, both eager to know more about the floating girl.

"Some people accused me of pulling 'pranks', and I was called to defend myself. I was cleared every time due to a lack of evidence!"- Sayaka said proudly.

'Every time? Lack of evidence?'- Shikamaru replayed her words in his head.

"Oh, so you were innocent. That's good!"- Ino replied.

'She didn't say that.'- Shikamaru thought.

"Let's go. We shouldn't keep Nozomi-kaasan waiting."- Naruto said. He referred to Hinata's mother as 'kaasan', whether as a mother-in-law or an adoptive mother wasn't clear, but he considered her his mother figure nonetheless.

The five kids walked, with the loli hag floating beside them, making their way to the Hyūga compound.

"Can you teach me how to float, Sayaka-chan?"- Shikamaru asked. He had run the numbers in his head and saw a positive outcome—never having to walk again.

"You can't learn to fly exactly like I do, but with Earth Release, you might be able to. Why do you ask?"

"I don't like walking."- Shikamaru admitted.

"Or anything that involves more than lazing around all day."- Ino added.

"Well, learning the technique will take considerable effort."- Sayaka said, grinning at his laziness.

"But once I learn it, I'll never have to walk again, right?"- Shikamaru's eyes sparkled with hope.

"You're not wrong. It's been years since I last touched the ground. But ultimately, it depends on your chakra control and reserves. You might not be able to use it continuously like me and Ōnoki."

'Years since I last touched the ground.'- Shikamaru's mind echoed the phrase.

"Who's Ōnoki?"- Chōji asked between bites.

"The Tsuchikage."- Sayaka replied, causing the kids to pause.

Even Naruto and Hinata were surprised by her casual mention of the Kage.

"The Tsuchikage? Is this technique common knowledge?"- Shikamaru asked, worried his dream was out of reach.

"Maybe in Iwagakure it is. Are you interested in learning?"

"I was, but now I see it's probably impossible."- Shikamaru said, deflated.

"If you want, I can teach you."- Sayaka offered, curious to see how far he could go in mastering it.

Shikamaru's dream rekindled.

"Do you really know it, Sayaka-chan?"- Hinata asked, her pink eyes wide in surprise.

"Yes, I know it. Watch."- Sayaka touched their shoulders, making them all float.

"Woah!"- Chōji exclaimed, his chips floating alongside him.

"What is this?!"- Ino gasped.

"This feels different."- Naruto noticed, recognizing the change from the usual psionic energy flight.

Much to the ANBU's frustration, Sayaka made the kids ascend higher. The villagers looked on in surprise at first but returned to their business upon seeing Sayaka with them.

"This is exactly what I want!"- Shikamaru said, unusually energetic.

"I can teach you after school. It'll be grueling, but worth it."- Sayaka said.

Shikamaru nodded, and the group spent the rest of the trip to the Hyūga compound marveling at the view.

Seeing the children land, Nozomi, who was expecting them, shook her head in disapproval.

"Sayaka-chan, are you flying the kids again?"- Nozomi asked. She didn't mind much, but it was different when it concerned Naruto—more specifically, Naruto's ANBU escort.

"Those guys should train harder if they can't keep up."- Sayaka replied. Her words confused the newer members of their group, but Naruto and Hinata chuckled, knowing exactly what she meant.

Later that afternoon, after some dango and ice cream—a combination seemingly designed for diabetes—Nozomi sat next to Sayaka. A wood clone of Sayaka's was training Shikamaru and the other kids nearby.

"Naruto, your chakra control is a bit lacking."- Sayaka said to the boy, who was balancing on one fingertip, hanging from a tree branch.

"Huh? How come?"- Naruto asked, confused. He thought he was doing fine.

Sayaka gave him a gentle telekinetic push, causing him to rotate slightly. Naruto twisted less than a degree, but that was enough to make him lose balance and fall.

"...I get it."- Naruto muttered. He was learning a form of chakra control dependent on vectors—far more difficult than the usual tree-walking exercise. It wasn't meant for combat, though; the purpose was to improve his spatial awareness.

"Shikamaru, the first step is to control your chakra to a minimum percentage of your capacity."- Sayaka instructed.

"What does that even mean?"

"Imagine your chakra is like a bag full of dust. Controlling the smallest amount would be like controlling a single speck of dust."

Shikamaru's face paled. Ino chuckled in the background, clearly amused by what her friend was about to endure.

"Is that even possible? Do I really have to get to that level just to fly? You weren't kidding when you said it would be grueling."- Shikamaru complained.

"I don't expect you to reach that extreme, but you need to aim for it. Once your control is decent, I'll teach you the next step. So today, we'll do the leaf-sticking, tree-walking, and water-walking exercises!"- Sayaka's clone said, raising her fist triumphantly.

"Sara-sama, all in one day?"- Nozomi whispered.

"I'll give him some of my chakra and help him along the way. It should be doable with enough effort."- Sayaka replied, tickling Hanabi's belly with her fingers.

"Kyahahahehehe!"- The toddler burst into laughter.

"What about you two?"- Sayaka's clone asked Ino and Chōji. They both had affinity for Earth release, so it wouldn't be as hard as starting from zero.

"I'm good!"- Chōji replied, likely on his eleventh serving of ice cream and dango.

"I'll see how it goes for Shikamaru first."- Ino said.

"Hey!"- Shikamaru exclaimed. He didn't appreciate being the guinea pig but was too lazy to argue further.

Meanwhile, Hinata joined Naruto in his training.

"Naruto-kun, are you sure about this?"- Hinata asked, concerned.

"Yes, Hinata-chan. Please help me!"- Naruto replied.

Hinata, also hanging from the same branch by one fingertip, raised her legs and kicked at Naruto. He twisted his body to dodge the kick, and she tried again. Hinata was using the normal tree-walking technique to stick to the branch, giving her an advantage—not to mention her Byakugan. Naruto, however, had to identify the vector of her kicks and counterbalance while holding onto the branch with chakra.

"~Hehehe, they look like little monkeys playing up there."- Nozomi commented.

"I guess, if you ignore the chakra control exercise."- Sayaka smiled fondly.

"Sara-sama, why are you training his spatial awareness?"- Nozomi asked.

"I think he's figured out who his father was. He's recently taken an interest in scripture, fūinjutsu, and speed-based exercises. I figured if he wants to follow Minato's path, I might as well help him a bit."

"The Flying Thunder God Technique?"

"Yes. He doesn't have his father's natural disposition for spatial maneuvering, but that can be trained. With enough practice, anyone can learn to teleport."- Sayaka said, thinking about Shukaku and his ability to create Sand-Doors to other dimensions and crossing by dissipating and reassembling his chakra body instantly.

"I don't think it's as simple as you make it sound, Sara-sama."- Nozomi replied, shaking her head at Sayaka's unusual sense of logic.

"He has time. By the time he's twelve, he'll probably be close to his father's initial top speed."- Sayaka said, referring to Minato's early attempts at the Flying Thunder God Technique.

As the day ended, Sayaka flew the kids to their homes before returning to her own.

At her home, Izumi was waiting for her.

"Sayaka-chan! I missed you."- Izumi said, hugging her friend. She had been away on an escort mission to the Land of Silk for about two months and had crossed half the continent, skirting the desert.

"I missed you too."- Sayaka said, returning the hug. Izumi had grown taller since the last time they met, but that was expected for a twelve-year-old.

"Come on, I'll make us some hamburgers."- Sayaka offered.

"Are those the ones with a beef steak between two buns?"

"It's technically a beef patty, but yeah, you're not wrong."

"Oh, I love those!"

"You love all my cooking."

"Not true! You once made some spicy meat rolls that I didn't like."

"You're lying. You didn't like what happened after eating a dozen tacos, but you enjoyed them while eating."

"...Ugh, I didn't know the spice would mess up my stomach, okay?"

"Too much spicy food is bad for most people."- Sayaka muttered.

As Izumi waited for Sayaka to finish cooking, she told her all about the mission. They spent a few hours gossiping, catching up on what had happened while Izumi was gone.

Afterward, Izumi decided not to stay the night and headed back home to her mother.

"Izumi, please remind my idiot friend that if he needs help, he can always come to me, okay? I feel like he forgets."- Sayaka said as she walked Izumi home. She always did this, even though they lived in the same compound—just in case that an idiot Uchiha tried to sneak up on her, like the bullies once did.

"I will, Sayaka-chan. I know he can be quite... Itachi(?)... but he means well. Thanks for being patient with him."- Izumi said, defending her quasi-boyfriend.

After safely delivering Izumi home, Sayaka returned to her own house.

Life moved at its own pace, and Sayaka was content to laze around forever. She trained Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Ino—who eventually joined after seeing how Shikamaru was changing—while Chōji observed from afar. For an Akimichi, in a way, eating was a form of training.

Shikaku and Inoichi visited a few times after their kids mentioned Sayaka was training them. Through them, the Hokage requested Sayaka to sell the flight technique to the village. However, Sayaka refused, telling them to learn it from their children if they mastered the jutsu.

Izumi would spend two nights a week with Sayaka, and Sayaka spent two nights with Hinata and Hanabi. Rarely did Sayaka sleep alone. She also enjoyed tea time with Mikoto, where they shared recipes.

A year passed, and in that time, she only spoke to Itachi three times.

The year after the Chūnin Exams, Lucian alerted Sayaka that he had been sensing a strange chakra signature appearing and disappearing around the Uchiha Compound. Summoning Jutsu was common, so signatures blinking in and out were normal, but this one was unusual—it was mixed with foreign chakra.

'Probably Obito Uchiha.'

|You're most likely correct. I do wonder why he's approaching Itachi.|

'Should we kill him now?'

|We can try, but I doubt we'll succeed in sending him to Kushina.|

'Yeah, give me a couple more years, and I'll spam the death of Rin Nohara in his mind until all he does is cry. Then, I'll send him to Kushina.'

Sayaka didn't pay much attention to Obito after that. The worst he could do to her was end his life, which would only force her to bring him back for payback.

Three days later, while Sayaka was waiting for Naruto and Hinata to leave the academy, Lucian warned her.

|We're being surveilled.|

'That's a weird way of saying someone is spying on us. I'm assuming you mean someone other than the usual ninjas stalking us?'

|Exactly. The usual Root squad isn't following us today. Instead, there's just one human, but they're further away than usual. Naruto's ANBU squad is still here as expected.|

'So, they've removed the usual squad and placed a sensor on us?'

|That's what I believe. I think they're trying to lower our guard.|

'Do you think they'll make another attempt? It's been months since my playmate tried to entertain me.'

|It doesn't seem like an attack is coming. They're probably just keeping tabs on you.|

'The real question is, why? Are they planning to break into my place? I thought they learned that equals death.'

|No, I don't think so. The alarm script hasn't gone off.|

'Weird... Let's wait and see.'

And wait she did—because Naruto and Hinata weren't coming out.

'Okay, they're stalling me.'

|Little Indra is still inside too.|

'Sasuke is there? At this hour?'—It was an hour and a half past the end of the school day.

|Affirmative.|

'What are these fools planning?'

|Maybe the—| Lucian cut off mid-sentence, sensing the activation of a soul mark connected to him and Madelyne.

'...Who the hell killed Izumi's mom?'- Sayaka asked when she felt the mark activate.

|They're killing the Uchiha.|

'But Sasuke's still here. Why would they separate him?'

|Maybe to use him as leverage against Itachi.|

'Should we intervene?'

|Is there a need to?|

'Well… maybe to take vengeance on the would-be killers?'

|What about Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke? They might use them as hostages if you interfere.|

'Let—' Sayaka felt another mark activate.

|That was a baby.|

Then another mark activated. And another. And one more. More and more.

Then... Izumi's mark activated.

'...Let's leave the kids with the Hyūga.'- Sayaka wasn't overly concerned about Izumi's 'death' since she knew she wouldn't actually die.

Sayaka had previously asked Lucian to create a special mark for her friends, one that would pull their entire bodies to Abeyance, using its innate energy to heal them, instead of just pulling their souls like the mark used by the Sand People. This way, they could decide what to do after healing in Abeyance. Though furious that someone had dared to harm her friend, Sayaka wasn't enraged—it felt more like when Izumi got bullied.

Sayaka teleported to the captain of Naruto's ANBU squad.

"Is the Hokage aware that the Uchiha are being slaughtered?"- Sayaka asked, her usual playfulness gone. Her chakra leaked out, and her frown deepened with every baby she felt being targeted.

"Sayaka, what are you talking about?"- The squad leader asked, matching her seriousness.

"It seems you don't know. Send someone to the Hokage. The Uchiha are being slaughtered, and depending on the culprit... we may have a different discussion after this."- Sayaka said ominously.

The squad leader signaled, and one of his subordinates flickered away.

"What will you do, Sayaka?"- He asked.

"I'm taking my friends to the Hyūga Compound. Naruto included."- Sayaka replied.

The squad leader didn't object. It was common to see Naruto with the Hyūga.

Sayaka teleported to the academy office where Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were.

"Sayaka-chan?"- Naruto asked, startled. He could feel the anger radiating from his usually calm friend.

"Sayaka Uchiha! What are you doing here? You're not allowed inside the academy—only students are!"- The instructor in the room exclaimed, his voice filled with accusation.

Sayaka could sense something else from him: fear and anxiety.

"What's wrong?"- Hinata asked, noticing the frown on Sayaka's face. She knew something was amiss.

"Something bad."- Sayaka said quietly. "I'm taking you all to the Hyūga Compound. You too, Sasuke."

"I'm not going with you! I'm waiting for my brother here!"- Sasuke glared at her. Like most Uchiha children, he hated Sayaka—not because of anything she'd done, but because he had been taught to.

"You don't have a choice."- Sayaka enveloped them all in telekinesis, lifting them into the air.

"What do you think you're doing, girl?!"- The instructor yelled, his voice tinged with rage, but his anxiety was even more obvious to Sayaka's empathy.

Ignoring him, Sayaka floated toward the window.

"Hey! What are you doing to me? I'll tell my brother!"- Sasuke flailed helplessly as he floated.

"Stop!"- The instructor flickered in front of the window, blocking her path.

"Move."- Sayaka ordered. She was about to make him fall asleep when something unexpected happened.

Among the shinobi in the village, it was common knowledge that Sayaka never harmed anyone wearing a Konohagakure forehead protector—she simply put them to sleep. So, when the instructor realized she was about to do this, his anxiety turned to dread, and he screamed:

"For the village!"- His body lit up in a flash of bright light.

*BOOOOOM*—He blew himself up.

The instructor had covered his body and the inner lining of his clothing with explosive seals.

Sayaka had spotted the seals long before, so she already knew the man was a walking corpse.

The explosion reduced the entire administrative wing of the academy, and part of the bordering street, to cinders and dust.

The civilians outside were saved by a psionic shield that Sayaka quickly erected, as were the remaining instructors in the building, though she didn't bother to dig them out from under the debris.

Naruto and Hinata—whom Sayaka had placed in a protective bubble—held each other in a desperate hug, their legs trembling and tears streaming down their faces from fear. Sasuke was no better in his own bubble, a dark spot now staining his shorts.

'I'll take you all with us. Don't resist.'- Sayaka spoke directly into the minds of the ANBU squad that had arrived to secure the jinchūriki shortly after the explosion.

Being ANBU, they were unfazed by the suicide bomber's blast and moved efficiently to complete their mission.

Sayaka ascended, flying faster than anyone had seen her before. The cries of terrified civilians and the sounds of shinobi rushing toward the explosion faded behind her. Two minutes later, she landed in the Hyūga Compound.

"Protect them."- She said, her voice sharp. She took off again immediately. A second later, Hyūga with pink, golden, and white Byakugans flickered into place, surrounding the kids and ANBU protectively.

'I can't teleport… It feels like I don't have enough chakra to push through the barrier.'

|It's similar to the barrier that was used in Uzushiogakure to nullify summoning, but this one's stronger.|- Lucian and Sayaka saw the Root ninja feeding the barrier chakra and ignored them.

'It doesn't matter. We're here.'

Sayaka landed in front of Obito's chakra signature.

"So they couldn't hold her back."- Obito said, mostly to himself.

"A few minutes' delay was all their effort amounted to."- Sayaka eyed him as he pulled a kunai from the heart of a dead Uchiha.

"What did you do to the infants, girl?"- Obito asked about the babies that seemed to implode into light and white sand residue before he could kill them.

"Since the village didn't want them, I took them. I don't think a deserter like you should have an opinion on what I do with them, do you?"

"Deserter? So, you recognize me as Madara Uchiha."- Obito assumed that when Sayaka called him a deserter, she was referring to Madara's departure from the village. He believed Sayaka had not seen through his transformation and spoke based on her knowledge from the kūhakugan.

Obito had used a high-level transformation jutsu to assume Madara's appearance, except for the orange mask. He was also aware that the kūhakugan users had access to vast stores of knowledge, which he had learned from Danzo. This led him to believe Sayaka had fallen for his disguise.

"Why do you call yourself that, Obito Uchiha?"- Sayaka deadpanned.

"...How?"- Obito asked, after a five-second pause.

"I can see through everything. Unless you transform your bones, muscles, skin, cartilage, and hair, I can see through any transformation jutsu. And I've seen your picture with your sensei and your old team."- Sayaka didn't mind sharing the details of her eyes' abilities.

"What are you going to do?"- Obito asked, concerned. Black Zetsu had already warned him that crossing Sayaka meant crossing Madara, or so he had been led to believe.

"Nothing. They're more your clan than mine. Go ahead, slaughter them. Keep pretending to be Madara Uchiha for all I care."- Sayaka replied flatly.

The Uchiha had hated her simply because of how she came to be, so she had no attachment to them.

Obito nodded but noticed something strange.

"What are you doing?"- He asked as the eyes of his most recent victim floated out of their sockets.

"I don't want the village to get a single Sharingan. Besides, my children will need them when they grow up if they want to fix the defect of the Sharingan."- Sayaka referred to the blindness caused by the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"I need those."- Obito snarled.

"Okay."- Sayaka said, flying away with the eyes and the scrolls containing Sharingan that Obito had already collected.

"...This little shit."- He growled, watching her float off with his prize.

'It doesn't matter.'- Obito thought. 'I'll collect them at the end. The barrier will prevent her from escaping.'

He resumed his slaughter, deciding he had already wasted enough time.

What followed could only be described as a grim and twisted game.

Obito killed an Uchiha, and the eyes immediately floated away.

Obito killed another and tried to grab the eyes before they flew, but they swerved out of his reach.

He killed again, this time attempting to seal the eyes, but they escaped even faster.

Frustrated, Obito killed yet another and tried to slash the floating eyes, thinking if he couldn't have them, no one could—but the eyes dodged his attack.

Obito drove a weapon through an Uchiha's eye socket, but the eyes were pulled from the skull before his strike even connected.

"..."

Obito stood in the middle of a bloodied room, two corpses at his feet, breathing heavily. He wasn't tired, he was mad.

'Is something the matter, Obito Uchiha?'- Came the devil's whisper in his mind.

Obito slowly lifted from the ground, his body defying gravity. He ascended to Sayaka's level, staring at her with fury and a hint of madness. Surrounding her were hundreds of sharingan, orbiting like natural satellites. Though she could have stored these eyeballs long ago, she kept them visible, teasing Obito's anger and wounding his pride.

Obito stared and stared, the madness gradually overtaking his rage. He slowly turned his back to Sayaka, kneading a veritable pool of chakra within his body. After flashing through hand signs, he muttered:

"[Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!]"- In a fit of anger and reckless fury, Obito spat a sea of flames, blasting away a quarter of the Uchiha Compound with the impact of the jutsu alone.

The flames surged like a wall, spreading out beyond the confines of the Uchiha Compound. Had the Uchiha not been ostracized to the outer rim of the village, the fire would have engulfed Konohagakure.

The Root that had been surrounding the compound died in the fire.

Sayaka felt Mikoto and Fugaku's marks activate and glanced towards the clan patriarch's house—still untouched by the fire—ignoring Obito's smug, irate glare.

|Itachi killed them.|- Lucian confirmed what she had feared.

During the minutes she had spent 'playing' with Obito, she felt the mark of a baby activate sporadically. Never more than one at a time, with enough delay between activations to deduce that either one person was helping Obito or Obito was helping one person.

Itachi's chakra was everywhere. She could no longer deny the truth.

"Obito, you're about as fun a playmate as Danzo is! Congratulations, you almost beat me."- Sayaka gave him a sunny smile as if genuinely pleased.

"...Almost?"- Obito asked after replaying her words in his mind, realizing something was amiss.

"Almost."- Sayaka waved her right hand, and from the sea of flames, ash, smoke, and tragedy, pairs of sharingan ascended.

Obito, in his rage, had no other choice but to acknowledge Sayaka's skill. She had protected the eyes from the pinnacle of Uchiha Fire Release techniques.

They stared at each other. One, an unnaturally cheerful girl in the midst of a tragedy that claimed all Uchiha lives save for Itachi and Sasuke. The other, a madman, scarred by reality and lies, manipulated into becoming a monster.

Neither could break the stare.

Suddenly, a massive red chakra skeleton erupted from the flames like a drowning man gasping for air.

"My job is done."- Obito muttered before using Kamui to appear beside the red skeleton.

'It's unfair that he has enough chakra to break through the veil.'

|His body was fused with one of the immortal soldiers. He has far more chakra than you.|

'Now I feel even more cheated. Those were my and Kaguya's soldiers!'

|Nothing can be done now.|

Sayaka followed the pair of murderers with her senses as they teleported away.

'Do you think they'll go after the kids?'

|They'd die in the Hyūga's territory.|

'Let's go anyway. I want to be sure.'

Sayaka left the blazing sea that was once the Uchiha Compound and flew towards the Hyūga's territory.

Upon landing, she found an arm on the ground, a few craters, and a passed-out Sasuke.

"What happened here?"- She asked as she moved to examine Sasuke.

|Someone used a mind-tearing genjutsu on him.|- Lucian explained.

"Sara-sama, Itachi Uchiha and a masked man teleported next to Sasuke. Itachi used his Mangekyō Sharingan on him. We fired when we sensed hostility and managed to rip off the masked man's left arm with our first arrow. The others passed through. Before we could attempt to seal the space, the masked man grabbed Itachi and teleported away in a swirl."- A black-haired, golden-eyed Hyūga explained.

|The immortal soldier turned him into a pseudo-sage, so their performance is impressive.|

'Yep, these guys kept up with my and Haruna-nee's teachings.'

"Thank you. You did more than expected. I'll go handle the fire and do damage control. Please continue watching over my kids."- Sayaka instructed, having already sensed the angsty chakra signatures of Naruto and Hinata safely locked away in a distant room. They had been moved immediately after the attack on Sasuke.

"It's an honor, Sara-sama."- The Hyūga replied.

Sayaka flew back to the fire to help extinguish it.

'Why do you think Itachi needed to break Sasuke like that? I can't comprehend my demented friend's illogical actions.'

|I can't either. There doesn't seem to be any benefit.|

'Hahhh… He's a fucking idiot. He even killed babies and his parents… He's no longer my friend. He's just another idiot, like the rest of the uragirimono. He made Kushina's work healing Shisui useless. Shisui left the future of the village and the Uchiha to him, and somewhere along the way, Itachi abandoned the Uchiha... Fuck!'

|Should I add him to our kill list?|

'I don't care anymore. If he dies, he dies.'

In a sour mood, Sayaka arrived at the inferno and began to dance high above the black smoke. She twirled like a ballerina, her hands swaying to the rhythm of muted music. She channeled natural energy, mixing in her own chakra as the script on her body glowed softly.

What started as a mist soon turned into a light drizzle. Before long, it became a cloudburst, perfectly shaped to cover the area engulfed by flames.

The once-red hue of the sky darkened. The chaos of the fire ceased, and the aggregation of floating carbon particles was replaced by vapor. The Uchiha Conflagration had ended.

One by one, the shinobi—previously kept away by the blaze—entered what remained of the Uchiha Compound. No intact bodies were found: blackened bones here, charred remains there, lumps of cooked flesh scattered about. Death was everywhere, while Sayaka, high above, softly twirled in the air, dissipating the nimbostratus she had created.

Once her work was done, she cast a glare at the Hokage from above, then flew to her house—the only one that had survived the fire. The barrier surrounding it had done its job well, isolating it from the inferno outside.

'Let's sleep. I'll deal with their shit tomorrow.'

|Should we check on the babies, Izumi, and Mikoto?|

'Mmm, fine!'

Sayaka brought her weary body to Abeyance, where she found a mess of wailing babies and desperate adults.

She slowly landed on the sandy ground of her dimension and used her empathy to soothe the infants and toddlers. As if by magic, they began falling asleep one by one. Sayaka made them float on clouds of manifested energy—perks available only to the dimension's owner.

When the last baby had fallen asleep, she turned to face the adults. Mikoto appeared drained, Fugaku looked weary, Hazuki Uchiha held her unconscious daughter tightly, and Kushina stood beside her, examining Izumi. Meanwhile, Nawaki and Ritsume each held a newborn, feeding them from baby bottles.

Sayaka remained silent and walked over to Izumi.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, she placed a hand on Izumi's forehead.

'What is this crap?'

|It seems Itachi used the same genjutsu on her as he did on Sasuke, giving her years' worth of a fake life. The overload nearly killed her mind, and her body would have followed. The script we placed in her pendant activated, putting her in stasis.|

'How do I fix this?'

|You don't have the skill for this. Give me a moment.|- When it came to psychokinesis, Madelyne was an expert in damage dealing, but she was not that experienced in healing broken minds.

Lucian took control of her body and began healing Izumi, carefully separating reality from illusion. After several minutes of focused effort, he blocked the memories of the false life, leaving them to gradually trickle away in her dreams.

'That looked complicated.'

|It was, but I feel like I've done something similar before.|

"Hazuki, she'll be fine. Itachi messed with her mind, but I just fixed it. She'll probably wake up tomorrow."- Sayaka placed a reassuring hand over Hazuki's trembling ones.

"Thank you, thank you, Sayaka-chan, thank you."- Hazuki sobbed, repeating her gratitude frantically.

Sayaka gently placed her other hand on Hazuki's forehead, making her fall asleep.

"Maybe we should move inside."- Kushina suggested, noting that Sayaka had set the teleportation point just outside her place.

Sayaka willed the babies to appear in the prepared nurseries, then shifted the space around them, and suddenly they found themselves in a comfortable tatami room.

"I hate that, Eiko-chan."- Nawaki complained.

"Boo-hoo! Cry me a river, Nawaki-nii."- Sayaka teased.

"I will if my little sister goddess keeps being rude to her Oni-sama!"- Nawaki said, putting on a mock air of authority.

"Bah! Idiot."- Sayaka chuckled.

Nawaki moved closer and lifted her onto his lap.

"Were there any Uchiha left?"- Nawaki asked.

"Itachi, Sasuke, Obito, and technically me. Unless I start a reverse harem, the Uchiha are doomed. Obito burned everything to the ground. Oh, there's also some diluted Uchiha blood in Sunagakure from the people they rescued over the years, so maybe there's no need to talk about harems."- Sunagakure often introduced new genes whenever they found lost people wandering the desert, and even some Uchiha had ended up there.

"Please don't talk about something so gross in a body like that."- Nawaki said, grumbling as his wife chuckled in the background.

"Aya-chan, are you sure you should be here? Don't you have something to do in the living world?"- Kushina asked, sensing that her sister was probably avoiding a troublesome situation.

"Probably some reports for the Hokage, but it can wait. If I meet him now and he starts talking nonsense, I might take him down with me."- Sayaka huffed. Nawaki took the chance to poke fun at her mood.

"Come on, Eiko-chan! You need to think about the Will of Fire! Where the leaves dance, the fire burns—AGHH!"- He instantly regretted it as Sayaka electrocuted him.

"Nawaki, why would you tease Aya-sama like that?"- Ritsume muttered while dragging her spasming husband into a lap pillow.

"Sayaka... What happened to our boys?"- Fugaku finally found the courage to speak.

He had pieced together a few details since arriving here. Initially, he thought this was the Pure Lands, but seeing Sayaka materialize changed his perspective. He also noticed the absence of other adult Uchiha aside from those connected to Sayaka.

"... Fugaku, what did you think would happen when you brought your four-year-old to the battlefield?"- Sayaka asked, venom in her voice.

Her vitriol stunned him. Sayaka had never spoken to him like that before. In fact, he couldn't recall her ever saying more than five words to him at once.

"... I—"- He started.

"Oh, shut up! I don't have the patience for your uselessness tonight, Fugaku. Itachi defected—not before using his Mangekyō Sharingan on Sasuke and breaking his mind, just like you did to him on that battlefield. Sasuke was unconscious but stable when I left him with the Hyūga."

"That's—"- Fugaku tried to speak, but Sayaka's glare silenced him.

"Now tell me, who cast the genjutsu on Mikoto? You or Itachi?"- Sayaka's gaze shifted to Mikoto, who had barely reacted since returning to Abeyance. Her eyes were distant and cloudy, her mind feeling as shattered as Izumi's but in a different manner.

She leaned on her husband, seemingly unaware of what was happening around her.

"... I did."- Fugaku confessed.

"Enlighten this ignorant me—why?"- Kushina's glare matched Sayaka's.

"... When I realized the village had betrayed us and that Itachi had sided with them, I knew resistance was futile. I would have to fight both my son and the village. I couldn't see a way to win, so I decided to surrender and plead for Sasuke's life. The fact that he hadn't returned from school suggested that maybe sparing Sasuke was Itachi's condition to the village."

"Mikoto disagreed and wanted to go to your home, saying we'd be safe there, but I didn't see that as an option. She tried to leave, but if Itachi had found a way to spare Sasuke, it was likely conditional on the death of all the Uchiha. So, I used my mangekyō sharingan on her to control her and wait for Itachi."- Fugaku spoke while clenching his hands into fists, with his nails carving his palms

"..."- Nawaki.

"..."- Kushina.

"..."- Sayaka.

A heavy silence filled the room. Kushina's disgust was barely masked, Nawaki's bewilderment was clear, but Sayaka's expression was unreadable.

"Fugaku, ever since I've known you, you've had your Mangekyō Sharingan. Itachi has had his for less than two years, yet you felt you couldn't defeat him. Your wife offered a real chance for survival, but you dismissed it. For years, you put the clan first—even above your personal feelings. But when it mattered most, when you should have stepped up as clan leader—whether to take Itachi down with you, save as many Uchiha as possible, or at least coordinate a last stand—you gave up. You put your feelings first."- Sayaka slowly floated over and pulled Mikoto from his reluctant arms.

"You're even more useless than I thought!"- She snarled, her face dripping with disgust.

"Congratulations, Fugaku! You've exceeded my expectations. Not many have done so."- She gave him a wide, angry smile before turning expressionless.

"I don't want you here. Mikoto doesn't need you here. You don't deserve to be here... so just go away."- With a wave of her hand, Fugaku turned to dust, his soul sent to the Pure Lands. All that remained were his eyes.

"Will that be fine with Mikoto?"- Nawaki asked.

"I don't care if she's not fine with it, she's better without him in her life."- Sayaka replied.

"Good riddance!"- Kushina exclaimed, she was beyond angry that Fugaku had harmed her friend.

"How is Mikoto doing?"- Kushina asked again.

"Give me a second, I'll have Lucian fix her."

'Please.'

|Sure.|

Lucian helped her, just like he did with Izumi, and soon enough Mikoto closed her cloudy eyes and fell asleep.

"She'll wake up tomorrow... I'll go back. Please take care of them."- Sayaka asked her siblings.

"Leave it to me!"- Nawaki smiled.

Kushina nodded while princess-carrying Mikoto to her room. She planned to sleep with her so that Mikoto wouldn't wake up alone.

"Thanks."- Sayaka said before teleporting away.

The next day, when Sayaka hovered out of her house, an ANBU squad was waiting for her.

Sayaka didn't say anything and simply floated in the direction of the Hokage. The ANBU followed after her.

She entered through the window, as any normal flying person would, and the Hokage, along with the usual pair, awaited her.

"Thank you for your warning, Sayaka-chan."- Hiruzen began.

"In the end, it didn't serve much purpose."- She replied, looking in the direction of the charred remains—her eyes ignoring distance and focusing and the still-going efforts to dig out the last corpse. Smoke still billowed from what was left of the compound.

"...It's a tragedy we didn't wan—" Hiruzen was interrupted.

"Spare me, Hokage. I don't buy your rhetoric. Save us the time and get to the point. How are you going to compensate me for the attempt on my life by one of your academy instructors?"- Sayaka's expression was blank.

"Sayaka-chan, the village is deeply ashamed of what happened under my purview. We are prepared to compensate for the trouble caused by our mistake. That is a fact!"- Hiruzen swallowed back his insincere lamentations and got straight to business.

He knew Sayaka cared more about the attempt on her life than the massacre of the Uchiha. He was happy with that, he would have never approved of it, but now that it happened he believed it's best to reap benefits from the tragedy and move on to something more productive.

"Great! Because it wasn't just the academy instructor; your shinobi, Itachi Uchiha, also tried to kill me and destroy my property. My house almost went down in the fire he provoked. I expect compensation for both."

Sayaka's additional demand caught Hiruzen off guard.

"Girl, watch your words!"- Koharu reprimanded her. Hiruzen and Homura winced; they knew Koharu had made a mistake.

Sayaka gave her a withering look before...

*Tunk*—Koharu's head hit the table. She had passed out.

Homura facepalmed while Hiruzen took a drag from his pipe and signaled for the ANBU to carry Koharu out of the room. Of the four elders, Koharu was the only one who hadn't learned how to deal with Sayaka.

Although this was the first time Sayaka had directly targeted Koharu, Sayaka had previously interfered with Koharu's home and clan in indirect ways whenever Koharu tried to act as an elder to her.

Hiruzen and Homura knew Sayaka's mood was volatile—literally—since the moment she entered through the window. Her interruption of Hiruzen's speech confirmed their suspicions. But it seemed like Koharu didn't catch on to Sayaka's mood.

"*Sigh* What do you want, Sayaka?"- Hiruzen asked directly. Dropping formalities and pretenses.

"Naruto's guardianship will go to Hinata's parents. You will not touch the Uchiha assets. Those belong to Sasuke now, and I'll manage them until he's capable of taking over."

Sayaka knew that once Mikoto woke up, she would ask her to watch over Sasuke.

"Is it necessary to adopt Naruto into the Hyūga? I assumed that would happen once their engagement is official."- Homura said.

"Yes, it is. It doesn't matter anyway. Whether the Hyūga controls the 'weapon' you fear or not, nothing will change. After the Uchiha's extinction, they are the strongest clan—even if the Sarutobi clan is more numerous. And you have bigger concerns than that."

"What do you mean?"- Hiruzen asked.

"Naruto has discovered that Minato Namikaze was his father. He may not act on it yet, but what will you do when he demands his parents' legacy? If I'm not mistaken, you appropriated their funds—some for the village's reconstruction and the rest for Root—coincidentally the organization that spread rumors of his status as the 'Demon Fox'. You squandered what was left. And let's not forget why you hid the truth from him."

"It was for his protection."- Hiruzen stated.

"If we hadn't used Minato and Kushina's funds, spies might have suspected we were saving them for a child. That could have revealed the existence of an offspring of Minato Namikaze, a jinchūriki with Uzumaki blood. Minato's reputation made it so that it wouldn't be unrealistic to say that a war to kill Naruto might have started."- Homura added.

"Naruto isn't stupid. If that's the excuse you're going with, fine, but don't blame me when you're woken up by a tailed beast bomb to the face. Your problem, not mine."- Sayaka dismissed the issue. 

While she was responsible for his education, she didn't spill any secrets to him. She knew she would get into trouble with the village if she did and she was not keen on discovering one day that they hid Naruto from her because she was blabbing about things not convenient for them. So whenever Naruto asked the kamidana about sensitive topics she evaded the answer, and the ANBU looking over Naruto's shoulder could testify to that.

"I agree to your demands, Sayaka. Do you have a report on what transpired last night?"- Hiruzen wanted to move on from the grim topic.

"Here. This version should fit whatever 'Will of Fire' story you want to tell the clans."- Sayaka handed over several papers.

"In it, Itachi went mad and decided to test his power on his clan. I fought him, but he overpowered me with a kage-level Fire Release and annihilated the Uchiha. He escaped, and an outsider teleported him to the Hyūga to kill Sasuke. The Hyūga defended Sasuke, and Itachi's companion lost an arm, which then turned into a log."- Sayaka had destroyed the arm because it had too much information she was not willing to share with the village.

Also, she planned to have Black Zetsu use this action of hers—covering for him—as proof to Obito Uchiha that she was on their side.

"You can claim that this outsider was the one responsible for the attempt on my life in the academy. The Hyūga will back it up, which will make Itachi seem indifferent to his brother—which I'm sure will help with whatever deal you made with Itachi—and lastly, it will be apparent that the village had nothing to do with Itachi's madness."

"And it will help justify handing the Uchiha assets to you—a six-year-old—if your strength is as described."- Homura added.

Though Sayaka looked eight, Lucian had aged her body. In reality, she was two years younger than Naruto and Hinata.

"Yeah, I thought that would help."- Sayaka nodded.

"Was one of the previous holders a politician?"- Hiruzen asked.

"Aya, the ruler of the Sand, was more of a spiritual leader, but she dabbled in politics. There was also the sole male holder who was a skilled merchant and dealt with nobles."- Sayaka shared.

"Thank you, Sayaka. This will help manage the situation."- Hiruzen said, relieved.

"About Danzo's involvement..."- Homura trailed off.

"If he shows up, I'll deal with him. I won't tolerate another attempt on my life. Keep him hidden. Let him be the 'darkness' he always claimed to be. I won't tolerate any more games."

"You don't have to worry, Sayaka. Root has been dissolved, and Danzo has no rights beyond being an adviser."- Hiruzen assured her.

"Whatever you say, Hokage. I've made myself clear."- Sayaka floated away gently. She knew that wasn't possible, the loyalty seals on the Root's ninjas proved it.

Whether Hiruzen knew it or not, it didn't matter and she didn't care. 

"I'll have the paperwork ready by next month."- Homura said, as he was in charge of the administration.

Sayaka nodded without looking back and headed to the Hyūga's to check on her probably panicking friends.

When she landed, Naruto and Hinata flooded her with questions. Sasuke had been moved to the hospital yesterday, so they were worried about his health, even though Sasuke had never been particularly kind to them due to their association with Sayaka.

"Why did Sasuke's brother attack him?"- Hinata asked.

"Itachi went completely insane. For reasons I can't understand, he turned against his clan and the village."- Sayaka explained.

"Will Sasuke be alright?"- Naruto asked, more concerned about Sasuke's health than his brother's absurd actions.

"Yes, he might sleep for a few days, but he will be alright."- Sayaka reassured them. She was confident that Itachi's genjutsu would affect Sasuke differently than it did Izumi, as Sasuke was only eight years old.

"He's going to be sad."- Hinata muttered softly, her empathic nature making her feel deeply for Sasuke's plight.

Naruto grabbed her right hand with his left and gently pulled Hinata's head to his left shoulder in one smooth motion.

"We will be there for him, Hinata-chan."- He said softly. Hinata, instinctively, hugged Naruto with her free arm.

'...'

|I think I saw you do that once; you taught him well. Look at Hinata's blush. She might not fully understand these nuances, but her blush speaks volumes about the effectiveness of Naruto's gesture.|

'It was not my idea, alright?!'

|I understand.|

"Please stay in the Hyūga compound for the day and avoid the Uchiha Compound. I won't be seeing you guys for the day; I need to coordinate the cleanup of the victims."- Sayaka said, interrupting their moment.

"Will you be alright?"- Naruto asked with a serious look.

"Yeah, don't worry."- Sayaka smiled at them.

They knew that Sayaka was constantly targeted by outsiders and, although they had never witnessed it, they knew she was accustomed to dealing with such situations.

Sayaka then thanked Nozomi and Hiashi and gave them a copy of her report so they would know what to say.

When she arrived at the Uchiha Compound, she used her senses to direct the corpse collection efficiently. She would indicate where the corpses were located, and the collectors would use ninjutsu to retrieve them.

While they worked, Sayaka floated above with a large piece of paper, about A0 size. She brought out an inkwell and used her telekinesis to maintain a steady stream of ink as she began drawing the layout of the land.

'Should we build a mall?'

|Doesn't it clash with the setting?|

'Does it matter?'

|It doesn't.|

'Ugh, but now that I think about it, it sounds like too much work. Maybe just a commercial center, something smaller.'

Sayaka spent the rest of the day in her musings. The next day, when she was sure the last corpse had been removed, she allowed Naruto and Hinata to visit her. Sasuke hadn't woken up yet.

"Maybe we should clean this place up."- Naruto suggested, observing the depressing landscape and thinking Sasuke might not want to see his home in such a state.

"Maybe it's better for Sasuke-kun if he returns to find nothing of his home instead of this."- Hinata said, voicing what Naruto had left unsaid.

"I was going to wait, but I guess we can do it ourselves. I'll call the Ino–Shika–Chō trio for help."- Sayaka decided.

"I'll ask Neji-niisan for assistance."- Hinata added.

"Then I'll go buy a few dollies to carry the rubble."- Naruto said.

And so began the 'renovation' of the Uchiha ruins.

_____________________________________________________

{A/N:

This is it! 33K words. That's the reason for the delay, the chapter grew bigger than expected (That's what she said!) and I was not don't closing the plot line.

Thank you for all of the support! I Always have fun reading your comments and reviews!

I hope you liked this chapter!

PS: Someone asked in the comments about Patreon or Discord. There's none for the moment and if I decide to create a Patreon it would be after this Naruto Arc.