19

Chapter 19: love is just a currency so take my pocketsNotes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Raijin poses an interesting figure in Konoha's rapidly changing political field.

With the current war, plenty of new names have shot to particular relevancy for their service and contributions. Moreover, it is understood by most that, as soon as the end of the third shinobi war is in sight, several changes in the hands of power will be taking place.

Most of the current generation of clan heads only came into leadership a year or two ago. The Jounin Commander will soon be retiring and appointing Nara Shikaku as his successor. The Sandaime himself will most likely be retiring as soon as the war ends—either with a claim to atone for his mistakes in this war, or to finish on a high note.

It is also understood that his successor is probably going to be Namikaze Minato.

Fugaku doesn't necessarily like it. He knows his own contributions to the war have been nothing to sneeze at and it rankles that his name is never mentioned in consideration for the hat when he too is powerful and influential. He can admit that Namikaze isn't undeserving in the least, but it still leaves a bad taste in his mouth when he and his clan are pushed further and further from relevancy with every passing day.

This is why Fugaku is quick to recognise the opportunity that Raijin provides.

It is obvious the boy is strong, much like his brother. His jounin exam had sufficed in bringing people's attention to his array of well-developed skills, boasting a total lack of defeat even when faced against high-ranking shinobi who are considered in-village experts of their own fields. His mission record had then gone on to create the picture of a young man with a strong work ethic and a talent for leadership, only supplementing the reputation of the Kogane no Arashi who had received personal recognition from Hanzo of the Salamander.

And then it had been publicly revealed that Raijin had killed Uchiha Madara himself and saved Uchiha Obito from the notorious rogue nin's clutches.

Fugaku had been informed the boy had needed to be rescued from captivity following a near-death experience, but the Hokage had told him that the exact circumstances surrounding Obito's rescue were still being further investigated.

Turns out it was because Uchiha Madara had been involved, having somehow managed to survive his legendary final confrontation with Senju Hashirama. According to the statement released to the public, the man had lived in hiding for all these years with the help of an external chakra source and had been brewing up a plan to somehow cast a genjutsu over the world at large, needing a young Uchiha shinobi's help to bring his plans to fruition.

Needless to say, Raijin had become something of a celebrity overnight with the credit of killing Madara going to him despite Jiraiya of the Sannin's involvement.

With such a prolific victory under his belt and with Minato being a well-known Hokage candidate, suddenly, everyone had their eye on the brothers. The question that all the shinobi clans wanted to ask: would they be receiving a new addition to the clan council?

It hadn't been in question when it had been just Minato. After all, there can be no clan of one. Even if Minato married Uzumaki Kushina, they could not be considered one since the jinchuuriki's status is held apart. For his contributions, it had been assumed that Minato would receive a medal, some land and money, and the Sandaimes' backing.

Now, however, there are two of them. Suddenly, it is the name 'Namikaze' that is starting to hold weight rather than just 'Namikaze Minato'. As soon as the younger brother starts using the last name in official capacity, it will be seen as all but a done deal.

There isn't much precedent for it, admittedly. The situation fulfils some very specific requirements after all. More than one overwhelming talent from the same civilian family and the performance of feats of village-wide importance: Minato and his steady progress through Iwagakure's frontlines, and now Raijin killing Konoha's most prolific traitor and displaying nothing but promise that he will be following in his brother's footsteps once he too receives his first deployment.

It would make sense if the Hokage chooses to reward them at the end of this war with shinobi clan status.

If Minato were to then take on the hat, he would already have a seat on the council to back his decisions, likely manned by his brother as a regent since the Hokage cannot act in the interest of any one clan. That would mean that he'd have the Sarutobi on his side thanks to Hiruzen, his own clan, the civilian representatives, and if Fugaku is predicting things correctly, then the Ino-Shika-Cho trio as well.

Already that is close to half the council, not accounting for Minato's natural charisma as a leader.

Fugaku cannot afford to stay standing still. The tide is changing and there is an opportunity to be had here.

It had been far too late for the Uchiha under the Sandaime even before any of them had begun to realise what was happening to their clan. Sarutobi may not be outright cruel, but he has still lent far too much of an ear to a bigoted bastard like Shimura Danzo. As long as he remains in power, Fugaku sees no way of convincing the village to lend a hand in bringing the Uchiha back into the fold, and there is no true way for the clan to achieve it by themselves either.

But Minato could mean a fresh start for them. If Fugaku can manage to cultivate a favourable relationship there, Minato would make an excellent ally to have on his side.

And the key to doing that lies with Namikaze Raijin. Where there is no way of contacting Minato organically without making it too obviously a political play and drawing unwanted attention prematurely, it makes perfect sense for the clan to reach out to the younger of the two.

If they can establish Raijin as their in with Minato, the Uchiha could still claw their back to being at the heart of their village.

It is imperative that this dinner is successful so the Uchiha main family can form the beginnings of some sort of friendship with the Namikaze brothers.

Fugaku is prepared to overlook a lot in the name of this evening going well. He is aware that the Uchiha are considered rather…traditional, and that Raijin grew up as an orphan who logically couldn't have had anyone to teach him how to navigate the propriety and formality of such occasions.

Needless to say, he is pleasantly surprised when Raijin proves him wrong.

"Uchiha-dono, thank you for inviting me to your home," the boy greets as soon as Mikoto has led him to the formal reception room, dipping into a proper bow. "It is my honour to meet you."

Up until now, all accounts of Raijin have painted the picture of a rambunctious young man. Even before his integration into the village, he had been notorious for a bad habit of running his mouth.

Looking at him now, it'd be near impossible to see where those rumours might have come from. Reluctantly, Fugaku is amused. It seems the boy has a modicum of awareness at the very least.

"We are honoured to host you, Namikaze-kun," he returns, dipping his head.

Raijin straightens and waves his hand. "Please, you don't have to be so formal with me. You can just call me Raijin."

"Raijin-kun then," Fugaku acquiesces. "You may call me Fugaku." He is not one for such familiarity usually, but it is good to be as welcoming as possible when one is hoping to make an ally. "Dinner will be served in an hour. Would you like to have some tea until then?"

Folding himself into the cushion opposite Fugaku's, Raijin murmurs a quiet thank you and takes the offered cup. "You have a lovely home by the way."

Fugaku inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Mikoto works very hard to maintain it. It is her ancestral home after all," he comments. "You have been here before, yes?"

"Once," Raijin confirms, nodding. "I was with Itachi-kun."

"Yes, he told us how you helped him. Thank you for that." Fugaku takes a sip of his tea, savouring the pleasantly earthy bitterness of the brew. "Itachi has been looking forward to seeing you again."

At that, Raijin's eyebrows shoot up. His lips pull into a grin that softens everything about his face, his countenance lighting up. "Really?" he asks, sounding pleasantly surprised. "Itachi-kun seemed like such a sweet kid. I'm flattered he even remembers me, to be honest."

Fugaku blinks. "You left quite an impression on my son, Raijin-kun," he states, matter of fact. "Itachi is still rather shy and he doesn't usually do well with strangers, but he seemed rather taken with you."

"Woah." Raijin looks taken aback. "I wasn't expecting that. I didn't even do anything that special."

Humming, Fugaku eyes the young man across him over the rim of his cup. "They do say children tend to be good judges of character."

Raijin laughs. "I thought that was a myth."

Fugaku's lips quirk upwards. "Partly," he admits, "although it is true that children do gravitate towards people whose chakra feels 'safe' for lack of a better word. Itachi had been particularly sensitive to it as a babe; I expect the tendency has yet to leave him entirely."

Itachi hasn't really displayed any other signs of being a sensor type, so it is likely he is simply sensitive. Mikoto had quietly informed him that it might be a main line trait. Generations of powerful sharingan have also meant that premature blindness has been rampant in the family for centuries due to the strain on the eyes, so it isn't impossible that they have developed to be able to combat the potential loss of vision by being more naturally sensitive to surrounding chakra.

Raijin looks intrigued. "I didn't know that," he says. "I've heard you do lose chakra sensitivity with age and that's why we have to learn to actively seek it out, but I didn't know all kids just do it instinctively. I guess it's a survival mechanism, huh?"

"Indeed." Fugaku nods. "Since they are unable to defend themselves, it is good to have some natural understanding of who they recognise as familiar or safe. That is partly why shinobi use their own chakra to soothe children."

Humming, the boy nods. "I suppose that means Itachi-kun didn't like being handed off to other people as a baby."

"It certainly hadn't been easy," Fugaku remarks dryly, his eye twitching involuntarily at the memory of all the sleep he and Mikoto had lost purely because Itachi hadn't been able to stand being away from them and their chakra. "The only exception had been Itachi's cousin."

"Oh?"

"Shisui-kun," Fugaku elaborates. "He is four years older than Itachi. They've been joined at the hip since day one."

Raijin's lips twitch up into a smile. "That's cute," he comments, sipping at his tea. "He's so mild-mannered now, it's hard to imagine Itachi-kun as a difficult baby."

Fugaku traces the rim of his cup, smiling down at it. It really does feel like only yesterday Itachi had been small enough to hold in his hands, refusing to let himself be put down and demanding all of Fugaku's time and attention. "Yes," he murmurs, "I suppose that's just how children are. They grow up in the blink of an eye; always changing and evolving."

"I think that's just how people are in general," Raijin says. "Of course, the older you grow, the slower you change, but I don't think we ever truly stop growing and evolving." He shrugs. "It's essentially a law of nature, yeah? Things that don't learn to evolve die out. I don't think people are any exceptions to that."

Fugaku raised an eyebrow. How philosophical. "Well said, Raijin-kun. You are right; change is inevitable. It is what makes it so scary."

"You think so?"

"Indeed." Fugaku would know, after all. He's constantly caught in a situation where some form of change is the only answer and yet nothing is willing to give into that evolution. He doesn't want to think about what might happen if they don't learn to change in time. Things that don't learn to evolve die out, Raijin had said. Fugaku swallows the rest of his tea to wash away the bad taste in his mouth. "There's a reason so many people dislike change, Raijin-kun. It is because they cannot imagine what they might become."

"And we're basically hardwired to dislike the unknown," Raijin finishes. He sighs and shakes his head.

Fugaku refills both their cups. "Moreover, people do not like that which is inevitable," he continues. "It reminds us that sometimes, no matter what we do, we are powerless."

Fingers tightening around his cup, Raijin smiles wryly at the rippling surface of his tea. "Oh, I know all about that, Fugaku-sama."

Strange. Fugaku wonders what he means. It feels like he might overstep if he asks.

Instead, he decides a change in topic is in order. "I hear you are well-travelled, Raijin-kun?"

Blinking at the sudden shift, Raijin nods slowly. "Yeah. I've kind of been all over the place."

"How did you get into that lifestyle?"

Raijin tilts his head, making a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat. "I did an apprenticeship," he says, "and my master was a nomad. Couldn't stay in one place for the life of him. I tried to stay put for a while after I'd stopped learning under him, but then my home got caught up in the war and I had go to back to being on the move."

Fugaku frowns. "Moving around so much can't have been easy with the wars either, though. Even civilians end up having to restrict their travel to avoid getting caught in the crossfire."

"It's not that difficult if you know which routes are typically favoured by shinobi and just avoid those," Raijin says, shrugging noncommittally. "The borders can get tricky and the well-known shinobi trade routes are obviously no go, but life hasn't exactly stopped for people outside the five great shinobi villages. Plenty of civilians don't even realise there's a war going on at all. Most travel services just rework their routes and life carries on even if things are admittedly more dangerous right now."

"Is that so?" Fugaku asks. Their own lives have been so affected by the second and third wars that it's practically impossible to imagine there are people out there who have been able to remain ignorant.

"Oh, yeah. I was in the capital not too long ago, you know, and the difference from here is insane. They're just going about totally unaffected. Meanwhile, you guys have been living in a state of emergency for nearly two decades now. Civilian trade kind of blew up in the past fifteen years with a lot of contact happening beyond the continent, but none of those effects have made it to Konoha itself because you've needed to keep your borders closed."

It's so easy for shinobi to write civilians off because they are viewed as weak by their standards. Fugaku often forgets that their measures for success and development are completely different, or that Konoha actually relies on them quite a bit to function economically.

The only reason the system of the shinobi villages has been allowed to function at all under the Daimyo's governance is because the villages wouldn't be able to survive without the Daimyo just as the Daimyo require the villages. The village needs the daimyo to financially back them and for them to allow civilian trade and clientele to flow through the village. Meanwhile, the village itself will perform in the capacity of the Daimyo's army should he so need it.

It's a humbling thought. They can get so caught up in their own posturing and the politics of solely the shinobi world, it is easy to overlook that they are only one facet of the continent's overall functioning.

"Technology has really taken off in the past twenty years," Raijin informs. "Some of the things civilians have managed to come up with are actually wild. I wonder what they could come up with if they knew how to harness their chakra better."

"Typically those sort of developments would come out of the villages' R&D departments," Fugaku remarks. "Of course, most of the things being currently researched by way of utilising chakra in technology are to aid efforts in the war."

Raijin sighs. "Ending the war is just step one to moving on," he says, shoulders drooping slightly. "You have to worry about patching up all the damage, and then you can finally begin playing catch up with the rest of the world."

Fugaku eyes the boy. "You expect it to be difficult?"

Smiling wryly, Raijin traces the lines of the cup in his hand. "Shinobi do tend to be stubborn," he says dryly. "But, like I said, there isn't really all that much of a choice when it comes to change. You learn to bend, or you break. The rest of the world isn't going to just wait around."

"That is true," Fugaku mutters thoughtfully. "But, I suppose, it truly depends on where you draw the line when it comes to change."

Raijin inclines his head. "What do you mean?"

"As in, what amount is change is acceptable before you begin to lose what is at your essence?"

"Ah," Raijin nods in understanding, "you mean change and the loss of identity?"

Fugaku hums. Quietly, he says, "Tradition is important, Raijin-kun. It informs us of who we are and who we used to be. Where we come from makes us who we are. It makes us what we will someday become."

"I don't disagree with that," Raijin concedes, inclining his head with a smile. "I do think it is important to keep tradition alive. Like you said: it informs who we are by reminding us of we used to be, and it is important to honour those who came before us because we would not be here without them." The boy shrugs, finger tapping against his cup. "I just don't think of change and tradition as opposites."

"No?"

"Fundamentally, I think, they are both about preserving something." Raijin lifts his hands to illustrate. "Tradition is obviously about preserving our past. I believe that change is about adjusting in such a way that we are best able to preserve our present. Does that make sense?"

Adapt to best survive for the future. Fugaku closes his eyes and makes a noise of consideration. "I suppose so."

"So you were right, Fugaku-sama: it does depend on where we draw the line. At what point does the preservation of tradition become a stubborn refusal to let go of the past? At what point does an endless pursuit of change become disregarding history and reducing present identity?" Raijin smiles. "Like all things, it simply comes down to balance."

Fugaku sips at his tea. It has gone cold. "Indeed, it does. A very nuanced view, Raijin-kun."

"You think so?" The blond looks amused. "I don't think it has to be that hard. We make these choices everyday. Some traditions survive because we are incapable of discarding them without discarding some part of ourselves. Others are forgotten because they start becoming meaningless in a world that has evolved past them. Sometimes, tradition is about legacy. It's about things bigger than us, things entrusted to us, things that will outlive us. Sometimes, it is about mistakes; lessons learnt and things that are meant to be left behind because we know better."

Fingers curling into a loose fist, Fugaku eyes the boy sitting opposite him. "You are saying that tradition can lead to living in the past fruitlessly if one is too obsessed with it."

Raijin nods. "And that change can mean being too obsessed with a future you have no real way of predicting. Life is all about balance. The present is equally as important as the legacies we receive and those that we will leave behind. What works best right now? And it might not hold up tomorrow but that's just your next step forward then, isn't it?"

What a strange young man. Fugaku is quiet for a long moment as he thinks this over, watching Raijin. For his part, Raijin looks utterly relaxed. He shifts every so often in such a way that suggests he is unused to sitting in seiza, but the line of his shoulders is at ease, as is the pleasant expression on his face.

Before either of them can continue, Mikoto pops into the room. "Dinner is ready. Itachi has already finished setting the table. Come quickly before it goes cold."

Fugaku nods at her, carefully keeping his eyebrows from rising. Time passed by much faster than he expected it to. "Come, Raijin-kun. I will lead the way. I hope you are hungry."

Rising to his feet, Raijin flashes him a grin and laughs. "Always, Fugaku-sama."

Fugaku returns the smile and beckons for the boy to follow him. Getting through this dinner doesn't seem so hard at all anymore.

Mikoto is, admittedly, a little surprised by Raijin as dinner progresses. Pleasantly so, in fact.

Both she and Fugaku had discussed their plans for this dinner the night before, and they'd agreed that they would do their best to accommodate Raijin and any ignorance he displayed since it wouldn't be his fault if he didn't know how to respond to their more formal customs and political manoeuvring.

As she listens to him converse with Fugaku, however, it is obvious to her that she and her husband had severely underestimated him for his age and upbringing. They had forgotten that the boy is still a shinobi, and a good one at that.

For all that Raijin makes himself out to be easy-going and loud, he is rather well-informed and incisive. And they should have expected as much really. Rumour has it that he was an information brokering mercenary before he joined Konoha. That means he had to have been good at staying aware of everyone's intentions at all times while keeping his own cards close to his chest. She rather suspects that he knows exactly what they were hoping to get out of inviting him tonight. The question that remains now is what Raijin intends to do about the Uchiha wanting him as an ally in Konoha's political landscape.

"I don't think Suna will be making any big moves in this war to be honest," he remarks, eyes slightly narrowed in thought.

Fugaku raises an eyebrow. "Really? I think all the other countries have been under the assumption that the Kazekage has just been biding his time to pull off something big. Konoha, at least, has been continuing to function with that in mind."

Raijin shakes his head. "I get why you might think that, but I don't think anyone realises one very simple fact: Suna is seriously broke. From my understanding, the Wind Daimyo doesn't bother funding them too much because the Land of Wind is so naturally defensible thanks to the desert that no direct attack on them has ever succeeded before. That, coupled with the fact that Suna got charged with the blame and war reparations for the second war just means that they literally can't afford to do more than defend themselves this time round. I wouldn't hold my breath on them changing that either. Their resources need to be diverted in just making sure they can maintain their trade so their people don't starve while they try to repay their debts."

Indeed, Raijin grew up travelling over the continent and it shows. He knows more about every country than the average shinobi growing up in any one village does, almost as if he lived among the people himself.

This is information that their spies might be privy to but unable to get to them because of how tightly Suna regulates its borders and communications, and here Raijin is—completely in the know and unaware of how valuable that quality is to Konoha.

From the light in his eye and the slant to his mouth, Fugaku is thinking the same. They could perhaps advise Raijin, help him gain a standing among the upper jounin ranks who'd value his intel, and cultivate goodwill with him following that channel.

The boy might see right through them, but it's also likely that he won't refuse the help. It would be mutually advantageous after all.

"I think Suna will bide its time so they can turn around and point fingers at Iwa this time around," Raijin continues, musing out loud. "This is all speculation, of course, but regardless of who wins, I think Iwagakure will be blamed and saddled with reparations. It would lessen some of Suna's debt that way too."

How pragmatic. Mikoto can appreciate that.

Raijin goes to serve himself another helping of rice when his gaze lands on Itachi who has been making his way through his meal in polite silence while the adults converse.

"Oh," Raijin says, and Mikoto can practically see him fall back into his easy and welcoming persona as his face softens into a smile, "we must totally be boring you, huh, Itachi-kun?"

Blinking under the sudden attention, Itachi's cheeks pinken ever so slightly. He shakes his head. "No, not at all, Raijin-san."

Raijin laughs. "It's okay. You don't have to be nice about it, Itachi-kun. If I'd been in your place, even as a fifteen-year-old, I would have probably thrown a hissy fit or straight up fallen asleep."

Eyebrow rising, Mikoto's lips twitch. "You didn't care much for such topics at the time, Raijin-kun?"

He snorts. "I didn't care at all, and I made that everyone's problem."

Itachi smiles slightly, blinking up at the blond. "I don't mind it, really."

When Raijin smiles back at Itachi, his face is full of a soft fondness that has Mikoto and Fugaku exchanging thoughtful glances. "You're a nice kid, Itachi-kun. Say, have you been up to anything fun lately?"

"I learned how to cast genjutsu on non-organic material this week," Itachi informs slowly, glancing at Mikoto as though unsure if this is the right answer to what is being asked of him.

"Really?" Raijin gasps. "That's super cool, Itachi-kun! Was it hard?"

Itachi ducks his head. "Not really."

Humming, Raijin tilts his head, smile unwavering. "Is that so? Well, I'm still impressed. I can't cast genjutsu on anything at all, you know."

Fugaku blinks. "Truly?"

Completely unbothered, Raijin chuckles and nods. "Yeah. I have too much chakra to be able to finetune it like you need to for genjutsu. I struggle with most yin type jutsu in general to be honest." He shrugs. "On the other hand, I'm really good at breaking out of genjutsu. You win some, you lose some, I guess."

"Well, I suppose if you're too yang dominant…" Mikoto trails off, uncertain. Too much chakra to cast any genjutsu at all. How frightening.

"What do you like to do in your free time, Itachi-kun?" Raijin asks, swiftly bringing the conversation back to Itachi.

Fingers tightening around his chopsticks, Itachi chews on his bottom lip in thought. "I like to read," he offers. "Moriko-obasan got me a new book on the history of Land of Fire recently."

Raijin nods, eyes bright with a genuine interest that slowly works to draw Itachi out of his shell. "So you like history?"

Shyly, Itachi nods. "I like reading about science too."

"I like history better personally," Raijin admits. "It feels more like a story so it's easier for me to get into it."

"Do you like storybooks, Raijin-san?"

Raijin scratches at his cheek. "I like when other people read them out to me," he offers. "I'm not too good at sitting down to finish reading them myself, but I like listening to stories a lot."

Itachi smiles. "Me too," he admits. "Shisui is really good at telling stories."

"Your cousin, yeah?"

"Yes," Itachi confirms. "I like listening to him."

"Do you spend a lot of time with Shisui-kun?" Raijin asks, leaning forward slightly.

Nodding, Itachi says, "I do."

"Then, is Shisui-kun your best friend?"

At that, Itachi blinks and tilts his head. "Is there a difference between normal friends and best friends?"

While Raijin gasps and launches into a lecture about the nuances of friendship and its many faces, Mikoto casts a look to Fugaku who appears to be deep in thought as he watches their son listen with rapt attention to the young man who clearly reciprocates that affection.

"I think Shisui is my best friend," Itachi concludes by the end of Raijin's rant.

Brightening, the blond nods. "There you go!"

"Raijin-kun," Mikoto cuts in before he can go off on another tangent, "you are a sealing master, yes? Like Jiraiya-dono and Kushina?"

Blinking, Raijin nods. "Sure, I guess."

"Fuuinjutsu is a dying artform, isn't it? Have you ever considered taking on a student and passing down your knowledge?"

Everyone at the table, sans Itachi, seems to catch onto what she is trying to suggest almost immediately. Raijin looks vaguely amused, but nothing about his countenance suggests discomfort or annoyance.

Fugaku prods further, "You could even become a jounin-sensei once you've run enough missions."

Setting his chopsticks down, Raijin shrugs. "Maybe," he says. "I've never really thought about it, but I don't think I'd be against it. If everyone approves, and if I find the right student," his gaze passes over Itachi casually, "I'd definitely be open to considering it."

Finally seeming to catch onto what is being implied, Itachi sits up straighter and looks at Raijin with wide eyes. Raijin grins at the boy and winks discretely, his smile softening when Itachi smiles back cautiously.

It certainly is something to consider. They'd gone into the evening hoping that Fugaku would be able to cultivate some sort of acquaintanceship here, but clearly, there is a greater avenue open for them to explore here. They would have to think about it extensively, of course, and it is likely that all sorts of bothersome parties would try to involve themselves unnecessarily, but despite all that, it wouldn't be impossible.

Looking at the uncharacteristic brightness in her son's eyes and the way Raijin regards him with complete attentiveness, Mikoto can see the potential there for a relationship that could run much deeper and be far more advantageous than just a simple acquaintanceship.

If Itachi can become Raijin's student and open that door for long-term relations between the Uchiha and their future Hokage…

Well, it certainly is something worth considering.

Notes:

Full disclosure: I love the idea of Naruto becoming a teacher. It'd be good for his inner child. Let him be soft please.

Further disclosure: I theorise that Suna is extra poor canonically because of war debt they incurred in the Second war. I also headcanon that my boy Gaara is the one to have finally paid it off and brought Suna back to financial stability and that's how he turned his image around from being murder-happy to a responsible leader.

Personally, I think that Mikoto is from the main line and Fugaku married into the family. The main line probably has stronger genes which neatly makes sense as to why Itachi and Sasuke both look like her while also clearly sharing visual similarity with Izuna and Madara. Maybe they're Izuna's direct descendants.