Chapter 21: Graduation at Last

MANDATORY QUEST!

Give aid to the Kirigakure Bloodline Rebellion

OBJECTIVE

Ensure the Rebels emerge victorious against the Loyalists -Completed

REWARD

+50,000 EXP, +15,000 Reputation with the Reformed Kirigakure, 1,000,000 Ryo

BONUS OBJECTIVE

Kill the Yondaime Mizukage Yagura - Completed

Help reseal the Sanbi - Completed

Ensure the survival of at least 75% of the Rebel Forces - Completed

REWARD

+25,000 EXP, 250,000 Ryo, 5,000 Rep with Kirigakure

+20,000 EXP, +2,500 Rep with the Bijuu

Given [Kushizashi, the Impaling Sword] by the Rebels

You have Leveled up!

You have Leveled up!

I sighed as I closed the window, my eyes dropping to my new kodachi. It was an inch or so longer than the standard type of kodachi, and it had a very odd tsuba, almost like an 'S', with the blade in the center of the letter. The hilt was wrapped in white and pale blue cloth. Overall, it seemed...ordinary. Too ordinary for something with a name like 'Kushizashi'.

[Kushizashi, the Impaling Sword]

A prototype sword made by the master swordsmiths who created the Seven Swords of the Mist, Kushizashi was produced as a proof of concept for a couple of the Seven Swords, Kubikiribocho and Samehada. It was relegated to storerooms as not being impressive enough to match the abilities of the true Seven Swords, but in the right hands, this sword can kill a Kage.

Its special ability is to extend up to a hundred times its own length in ten seconds, retracting the same length in the same amount of time. It does this by consuming the user's chakra, although there are chakra storage seals in the hilt that allow the wielder to store chakra there beforehand to offset this weakness. The strike of this sword is fast enough to come and go before the target or anyone around them realises what is happening.

It was a rather amazing weapon to be completely honest, and it wouldn't take very long for me to integrate it into my fighting style, plus it gave me an unexpecting ranged weapon with its ability to extend itself.

All in all, it was a perfect replacement for [Tsuki no Usagi] and really made me wonder about my Gamer power. I mean, the timing of getting this was almost perfect having just lost my last weapon. I still missed my second sword though. It had served me well over the years and I had been sentimental enough to retrieve the remains of the blade and hilt from the battlefield.

Shaking my head, I kept moving and opened my Status window to assigned the stat points that I acquired, bumping both of my STR and VIT to 100 and gaining the associated perks.

You have acquired the Perk 'A Strong Body' for reaching 100 STR

A Strong Body - All melee attack damage is increased by 10%

You have acquired the Perk 'A Durable Body' for reaching 100 VIT

A Durable Body - All Physical Damage reduced by 10%

Huh, helpful. I closed the windows and looked ahead, smiling happily as I saw the building the Uchiha Clan resided in. "Home," I whispered to myself as I leapt up to the balcony of my apartment.

"NEE-CHAN!" two excited voiced chorused in unison as a pair of yellow and black blurs slammed into me, revealing themselves to be Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun.

"Hey you two," I greeted them warmly, hugging my brothers tightly. "Missed me I take it?"

"Of course!" Naruto-kun affirmed with a nod, not relenting in his tight hug as he buried his face into my waist.

"I'm glad you're back," Sasuke-kun admitted reluctantly, even though he didn't back away from the hug either. In the time I'd been away, they'd grown a bit taller. Sasuke-kun had that hairstyle that he'd had for most of his early career as a shinobi in the original timeline. Naruto-kun's sunny hair almost shone in the daylight. They were getting close to graduation.

"W-Welcome back, Yuriko-sama." little Hinata-chan greeted me. Evidently the three had been having a playdate. Or a study session?

"Hinata, cut out the '-sama' will you?" I teased her by tapping her on the nose, making her eyes cross slightly. "I think I've told you that before."

"Y-you did… Y-Yuriko-sam… san," Hinata-chan relented under my stern motherly gaze, flushing in embarrassment.

I smiled cheerfully at the shy girl before righting myself and looking over to where Roshi was standing, an amused look on his face, with Madoka-chan.

"Mama!" Madoka-chan squealed out happily as she reached for me.

"Madoka-chan!" I replied with a squeal of my own, not that I would ever admit that to anyone and anyone who said I did squeal will experience pain, before taking my daughter into my arms and nuzzled her cheerfully as she squealed happily in response. "Oh how I missed you all!"

"Welcome home," Roshi greeted, his bearded face splitting into a grin as he pecked my cheek.

"I'm back," I greeted in return, giving him a special smile before Madoka-chan tugging on my hair brought my attention back to her.

I was where I belonged, with my family.

"Entend!" I commanded as I swung [Kushizashi], the blade growing out to several times its length as it cut through a [Rage Gator] in the [Furybound Bog], the 26th training ground. "Retract."

The kodachi followed my command and withdrew to its normal size as I flipped out of the way of another [Rage Gator]. "Extend," I announced as the kodachi followed my command, driving itself through the beast's skull as my [Chakra Flow: Chakra Scalpel] scrambled its brains, killing it.

You have killed two [Rage Gators]!

5,000 EXP gained, 2,500 Ryo and 2 [Gatorskins] acquired and looted.

I let out a sigh as I rolled my shoulders and looked around the area I was in, standing atop of the water of the bog. "It's a good sword," I muttered to myself as I looked down at [Kushizashi] with a speculative eye. "Very receptive to my chakra… as you'd expect of a prototype of Samehada."

I could see what the designers had been testing with it. Samehada's ability to absorb chakra and Kubikiribocho's ability to create metal were both present, although I had no idea how Kushizashi created that metal. Kubikiribocho didn't make metal, per-se; it extracted the iron from the blood of those whom it cut. This was metal being made of nothing but chakra. How the hell had the sealmasters who had designed this sword's seals accomplished that? It was almost like Steel Release.

A deep growling made me sigh as I shelved the thought for a moment and looked over my shoulder as a massive monster of an Alligator looked down at me, easily ten times the size of a normal gator, it's once green scales now bearing red markings on it.

[Kyuubi Mutated Gator King]

HP: 10,000 CP: 10,000

Well, that's a thing. I let out a small sigh as I used my [Inaba Flicker] to make some distance between myself and the boss monster as it tried to bite me. "Y'know, I would've been scared if I came across you a few years ago," I sighed as I flickered away from a blast of red tinted water. "But after this last mission… you just don't match up…"

Flickering away I appeared above him on a tree branch as I flipped through my hand seals. "[Fire Release: Sunray Flame]," I announced as I formed the javelin of fire that broke all the laws of thermodynamics and the rules of the universe.

"Let's see how much this does," I said sardonically before throwing the Javelin at the boss monster, the creature roaring before the Javelin struck.

Well… maybe I shouldn't have used it in the middle of a place that had a high level of water… steam burns hurt.

"Fuck," I hissed out in pain as I ran a glowing green hand along my body, only my quick thinking and summoning of the ribcage of my [Susano'o] saved me from death by steam explosion, seriously, I'm a Jonin, I should know better by this point, but no… I still do stupid things…

[Kyuubi Mutated Gator King] killed

+9,500 EXP, 5,000 Ryo, [Gator Skin Vest] looted and placed in Inventory

You have gained a level

You usage of High ranked Fire Ninjutsu when it wasn't needed gained you the 'Firebug' Perk!

Firebug - You use Fire ninjutsu like it's going out of style, so much so that you've been declared a fire hazard no matter where you are, although few can dispute your effectiveness with the art. - +25% Damage when using Fire Ninjutsu

"That's not necessary…" I whined as I looked at the box. "You saw the size of it, I think I was completely within my rights to use S-ranked Fire ninjutsu… on something that I outleveled by at least 20 levels…" I let out a sigh as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Well… better than dropping a Meteor on it I suppose…"

I remembered Madara's bullshit jutsu that summoned meteors in the Fourth War and grimaced. Might have to think about a way to counter that if I screwed up and actually let Kabuto survive longer than was strictly necessary.

Which… would only be until the Chunin exams if I had any say in it, which considering my level of strength, I probably did. The man may claim to be at least as strong as Kakashi, but I highly doubt that was actually the case as, despite his stamina issues, Kakashi was deadly when he got serious and didn't waste time to simply kill people that were in his way.

He was an ANBU captain after all.

Kabuto wouldn't reach Kakashi-levels of strength until after Orochimaru died, timeline wise, but he wouldn't have the chance. Sneaky as he was, I was still stronger than him by a large margin.

I rolled my shoulders and looked myself over, making sure that all of my injuries from my own ninjutsu were dealt with before I began heading for the exit to the field, now that the boss was dealt with I could get my clearing reward and head home to get started on dinner, needed to get the boys ready, tomorrow was the graduation exams after all!

I hummed a bit to myself as I walked through the streets of Konohagakure, greeting familiar faces as Madoka-chan babbled away cheerfully, something told me my daughter was going to be quite the social butterfly and motor mouth when she was older considering how much she loved to talk as it was, even if it was in broken sentences.

I apparently needed to get out, according to my husband, before I wore out the floorboards with my impatient pacing around the apartment as I waited until I could go and pick up Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun from the Academy to see how they did in the exam.

So, with my loving husband ushering me out of the door while my mother handled the celebratory decorations - there was no question of them passing to my mother - I decided that I would run a couple of errands that I wanted to do.

Starting with visiting Suguro's to check on an order I had made.

"Yuriko-chan!" the blacksmith greeted with a beaming grin as I walked into the shop. "And Little Madoka-chan!"

"Susu!" Madoka-chan cried out happily with her nickname for the large man who took it in good humour.

"Here to check on your order?" he asked for confirmation, getting a nod from me in return. "Well, perfect timing, because they're all finished, put a rush on it since you told me what you wanted them for."

With that he brought out a pair of weapons, a tanto and a chokuto, a weapon for both Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun as congratulatory gifts for their graduation. "Like use asked, I worked in the metal from [Tsuki no Usagi] into both of them," Suguro explained. "And they're both made using a similar metal so there shouldn't be any weakness in the metal as a result."

I smiled as I looked the two blades over carefully, making sure to keep them out of range of Madoka's grasp as I inspected them. "Did you name them yet?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

The smith shook his head, a knowing look on his face. "I think you'd be the best for naming them," he assured me with a wink, getting a chuckle from me.

"I suppose so," I agreed as he sheathed the blades and wrapped them up in a covering for me to carry. "Thank you for your work, Suguro."

"No worries! Just make sure the brats take good care of the weapons," he replied as I headed for the door. "And warn them that I'll tan their hides if they break them!"

"Don't worry I will!" I assured with a small laugh as I left the shop, placing the wrapped package in a seal on my jacket before continuing on my way. Kakashi and Jiraiya had been such lazy bastards in the original timeline that they hadn't taught Naruto how to do anything other than brawl and use the Kyuubi's power. Ditto with Sasuke and his Chidori.

Not on my watch. Sasuke had been taught some chokuto kata by a member of the clan I trusted, Megumi, who had specialised in the use of the odd sword type before retiring to raise her family. A former Uchiha ANBU, Hifumi, had started Naruto on a few basic tanto kata as well. Once they were proper genin, I could get their teachers really start training them in earnest.

If Kakashi thought he could simply just read his porn and teach them almost nothing… he was wrong.

I chuckled to myself, feeling my shoulders relax as I walked through the streets of my home village while I made my way to the park to play with Madoka-chan for a while.

I let out a small sigh as I stood outside of the Academy, looking up at the building with a fond smile, remembering the time when I was on the other side, coming out to see my family waiting for me with proud smiles on their faces.

Looking down, I listened to the idle chatter of the mothers around me as Tsume-san walked up and struck up a conversation while we waited to find out the results, Tsume-san being particularly interested about my mission to Kirigakure. It was a rather nice opportunity to speak with the feral looking woman outside of the usual Shinobi Council meetings who actually had a rather fun sense of humor, her rendition of meeting her departed husband had me giggling uncontrollably.

Soon enough, however, students began filtering out one by one, some bearing the leaf hitai-ate, some not. I was told of where Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun lay when the pair bolted out of the academy doors and glomped me with happy cheers. "Good job you two!" I congratulated the two of them as we hugged. "Oh, I'm just so proud of the two of you!" I said excitedly as Madoka-chan gabbered on, caught up in the excitement of the moment though she didn't understand it.

The hitai-ate on their foreheads made me feel both happy and sad at the same time. They were growing up and I couldn't stand between them and the world so much anymore; they had to fight their own battles from here on out. They were, after all, the main characters of this story. They had to fight people of godlike strength in this world...and I had to let them.

Well, I would certainly protect them as much as I could whilst trying not to stifle them with over-mothering them.

"Come on, we've got something waiting for you two at home," I told the two with a wide smile, getting cheers of excitement from the pair.

I smiled as they led the way to our home, they were so different from canon, Naruto-kun was lovable as always, but he was calmer, his energy was channeled into more productive things. Sasuke-kun still was quiet, but that was more because of his personality rather than psychological issues he had. They were also very good friends, brothers in all but blood, not to mention their interactions with Sakura-chan, who was learning Iryojutsu from me, and Hinata-chan, who had been friends with them since childhood.

All in all, the world was a vastly different place from what I remembered, hell I don't even know what Orochimaru and the Akatsuki are planning, my actions could have caused their plans to change, most of the world was allied with one another in some shape or form, notably Konoha and Iwa, two of the stronger shinobi villages around.

The Butterfly Effect was really a bitch, because now I had as little idea about what Obito would do as anyone else. I certainly had an advantage because I knew the bastard was still alive, but how he would react given the radical differences in the socio-political landscape of the Elemental Nations compared to the original timeline was beyond me. Until I had proof that things were changing though, I was going to assume that Akatsuki was still being used as patsies for Obito and Madara and that they were going through all the motions that they had been in the original timeline.

Out of the nine Jinchuuriki I knew of, the most vulnerable ones were Fu-chan from Takigakure and Han-san when he was alone in Iwa. Gaara-kun would be safe for a while, and Yugito Ni'i-san and Killer Bee-san were able to cover for each other unless Unruly Ay was stupid enough to send them out on seperate missions. Roshi and Naruto-kun were in Konoha and safe, while Utakata-san was wandering somewhere in the Nations and the new Jinchuuriki of the Sanbi was being taught about his abilities by the Bijuu himself in the middle of Kirigakure, although he was far too young to fight, and Mei knew not to try and deploy him or Han-san, Roshi and I would kick her ass.

In Akatsuki, the ones that I felt had to be either turned or eliminated were Itachi, Kisame, Konan and Pein. Those four were the strongest among them, as well as the linchpins of the group. Take them away and Akatsuki would cease to be an issue as a cohesive group. Obito… now there was a conundrum. He had murdered Minato-sama and Kushina-san, even if it wasn't by his hands. He had orphaned Naruto-kun and had twisted Itachi as well, I have no doubt. Still, even he was a puppet at the hands of Madara, who was then a puppet at the hands of Black Zetsu.

OK, Zetsu had to die too. The original Naruto had been too kind when he had sealed him away with Kaguya. Besides, there was no way I was going to allow the Rabbit Goddess the chance to get unsealed in the first place.

"Nee-chan?" Naruto-kun's voice broke me out of my thoughts. He was looking up at me in concern. "You got all frowny."

"Nothing you need to worry about, Naruto-kun," I told him, a smile coming into place on my face. "Just some odds and ends that need to be handled, but they can wait for tomorrow."

Naruto-kun tilted his head a bit in response and looked at me carefully before nodding in acceptance and giving me a brilliant smile.

I felt a slight pang in my heart as the brilliant smile that was a perfect mixture of Minato-sama's warm acceptance and Kushina-san's energy was aimed at me, but I pushed the pain away to smile back at my little brother and ruffled Sasuke-kun's hair, getting an annoyed squawk of displeasure from him as we made our way home.

The party we had thrown for the pair was a fun little affair, the entirety of the clan joining in to celebrate their success in graduating, even as we kept quiet about the real genin exam coming up for them. It was traditional really, only reason I had been able to skip it was because of the war that was going on and the need for more combat capable shinobi.

But, the real highlight of the party for me, was when I gave them their gift. "These, are for the two of you," I told them as I passed the packages to them. "Go ahead, open them up."

The two quickly tore away the simple wrapping that covered the blades, their eyes widening as they saw the sheaths. "The two of you are now genin, and while that may mean you are an adult, it doesn't mean that you are not with your family," I told the pair, kneeling so that we were of a closer eye level. "These blades have pieces of [Tsuki no Usagi] forged into them."

The eyes on the two widened as they looked at me, jaws a little slack. "Nee-chan… I…" Sasuke-kun started, looking lost as to the proper words he wanted to speak.

"As long as you wield these blades, a part of me, and my experiences as a shinobi forged in war, will be standing along with you." I continued softly. "You are never alone even without these, but this...this is a more tangible connection that you can grasp with your hands. Sasuke-kun, your blade is called Takahane, or Hawk Feather. Naruto-kun, your weapon is called Kogane, or Arc Steel. [Tsuki no Usagi] was forged into them, as I said, which makes them chakra conductive. May they serve you well, my little brothers."

The two brothers stared at me in wide-eyed awe before looking down at their gifted weapons. I suddenly found two pairs of arms wrapped around my as my brothers launched themselves into my arms. I couldn't help the laughter that spilled from my mouth as I hugged them tightly in response.

This was what I wanted in life, to bring happiness to my family.

Shaking my head of those thoughts, I brought my focus back to the reason we were celebrating, the graduation of my little brothers.

In a tavern in a seedier part of Konoha, Mizuki Toji glowered at a glass of strong alcohol. He was majorly pissed at the moment due to the graduation of That Thing as a ninja. The thrice-accursed Demon Fox was now a ninja! What on earth was the Hokage thinking?!

When he had become a Chunin Instructor at the Academy, he had planned on subtly sabotaging the curriculum, as per the orders of his master, Orochimaru, as well as seriously sabotaging the Demon Brat's education as a ninja. Because fuck the demon.

That plan had gone down the toilet rather quickly thanks to Yuriko Fucking Uchiha. She had taken one look at the 'amended' curriculum during her visit and raised high hell with the Hokage. That had caused a lot of his patsies and unsuspecting catspaws among the civilians to be given a slap on the wrist, meaning he'd have to be more sparing in using them, dammit.

To top it off, the idiot who had been the Academy's Headmaster, as well as several other teachers who had supported him, had been sacked and reduced in rank to genin...permanently. Their replacements had been told in no uncertain terms to not try anything foolish again, or else.

The Academy had also been under increasing scrutiny, meaning there was no way in hell to accomplish either of his goals, not if he wanted to remain under the radar of the security forces in Konohagakure. So, being a smart man, he had manned up and acted like the consummate professional that he was pretending to be.

'That Uchiha bitch though...she kept looking at me like I was a shuriken target…' he shuddered at the memory of her flashing her Sharingan at him shortly after the Academy had been restructured again. He had felt like he was in front of Orochimaru-sama again, like a mouse under the gaze of a snake.

He knew of all of Yuriko Uchiha's legendary exploits during the Third Great Shinobi War, as well as most of her activities since then. Her most recent triumph, defeating the Yondaime Mizukage, who had also been a Demon, alongside one of Iwa's Demons, had made the rumour mill faster than you could say kunai. If there was a grain of truth to the rumour, as all rumours had at their core, then she had altered the landscape just as the Shodai and Uchiha Madara had during their infamous battle that had created the valley of the End.

No, he could not let that woman even suspect that he was an enemy agent. He'd last longer against the Third Hokage than against her.

"You're a hard man to track down, Mizuki-kun." a smooth voice said as a silver-haired man sat opposite him.

"Kabuto." Mizuki grumbled. "Whaddya want?"

"That's not nice, Mizuki-kun." his contact with Orochimaru scolded him. "Especially since the one who failed his mission is you. Care to explain yourself?"

So the blue-haired man launched into a quiet, but passionate, rant about the Bane of His Existence and The Demon Brat. How even attempting any kind of interference would have caused enough scrutiny to make his position as a spy worthless to descend upon him. How it could all be traced back to one woman.

"That is...quite the tale, Mizuki-kun." Kabuto said after a moment. "I'm sure you'll pardon my scepticism and the fact I'll be double-checking everything you've told me."

"Go ahead." the Chunin grunted. "Everyone and their grandmother will tell you the same thing. I am not afraid of having my story double-checked here."

"Evidently so." the bespectacled man nodded slowly. "Well then, until I inform you otherwise, keep your head down. Our mutual acquaintance is not one who suffers fools easily, and you have been good at keeping your head down thus far. He rewards good service."

With that, he stood up and left.

'That guy creeps the living hell outta me.' Mizuki shuddered and got up to leave as well. He didn't finish his drink, as meeting with his contact had soured the idea of drinking any more.

Kabuto smiled to himself as he left the tavern. He was more than reasonably fond of Yuriko Uchiha, as she had killed that old fossil Danzo. Now the fact that he had been tricked into killing his old guardian, Nono, had been avenged completely. Orochimaru-sama was also very interested in her, both for her skill as a medic and as a possible host body. The Snake Sannin had tried to capture Itachi to use as a body, but had been utterly defeated in the attempt.

Yuriko, however, had several usable levers that Itachi did not. Her husband, her daughter, Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun...oh, there were many tools with which to convince and coerce her to submit. She WOULD need to be convinced though. Orochimaru-sama had told him of the battle between Yuriko and Han versus Yagura and how even his Eight-Headed Serpent Jutsu wouldn't have been enough to guarantee victory over her.

So, convincing and blackmailing it would have to be.

'Sorry Yuriko-sama, but it is in my master's opinion that you become the foundation of his new, more powerful form.' the silver-haired medic smirked again as he walked into the shadows of a building and vanished.

END CHAPTER!

Yuriko's Stats

Name: Yuriko

Level: 79

EXP: 9,047/39,500

Age: 20

Gender: Female

Title: Uchiha Clan head (+50% to all reputation gains, command of the Uchiha Clan)

Secondary Title: Equal to the Clan Killer (+50% to all stats, +200 HP & CP per level, Reputation with Konohagakure and Uchiha Clan is set to [Exalted])

STATS - Current

HP - 12,000

CP - 38,500

STR - 100 (175)

INT - 140 (210)

DEX - 160 (280)

VIT - 100 (175)

WIS -135 (202)

LUK - 41 (61)

Ryo - 39,115,254

NEW PERKS

A Strong Body - All melee attack damage is increased by 10%

A Durable Body - All Physical Damage reduced by 10%