An Uchiha Dinner

"Kakashi-sensei sucks," Sasuke said grimly, stabbing his rice with his chopsticks in frustration. "I want to change teachers."

Jun's eyes sparkled in amusement. This dinner promised to be lively. No one was on a mission tonight, so they were all together. Even Neji had managed to sneak out of the Hyuga district to come. Jun wondered if Hiashi didn't care about what his nephew was doing, or if he really hadn't noticed anything. Or maybe he thought Neji was coming to eat with Karin. They had been inseparable since the Academy.

Perhaps, the Hyuga clan leader was hoping for a marriage with the Uzumaki in the future. Jun hoped not. If Hiashi approached him to talk about an arranged marriage, Jun would be forced to tell Karin about it since it was her life. The latter would probably punch him in the face.

"What else did he do?" Izumi asked with a smirk.

"He made us chase after that damn cat! It's the fourth time in two days!"

"I seem to remember you suggesting him to get Gai's haircut and smile more, right?"

Sasuke glared at Izumi at the reminder, while Kazuma chuckled in the background. Kazuma and his team loved to tease their sensei, and Yamato was a good sport. On the other hand, Kakashi seemed to be more rigid, a pain in the behind.

"It was a joke!" Sasuke defended himself.

"I'm sure he laughed then?" Karin inquired mockingly.

"Yeah," Sasuke grumbled. "In his weird and menacing way. And for two days we've been chasing the damn cat."

"At least it's not my team chasing after that cat," Kazuma said happily.

"Your team is terrorizing the cat, Kazuma," Neji added

"It's mostly Hotaru. She uses her Suiton all the time."

"Didn't you set fire to a barn the last time?"

"It was an accident!"

Sasuke looked thoughtful as if considering the idea of ​​starting a fire himself so that he would be deemed too dangerous to chase after a cat. He let out a low growl. He seemed to want to change Kakashi's personality through his passive-aggressive attitude. But getting into a fight of wills with your superior was not always a good idea, especially if you were at the very bottom of the hierarchy.

Sasuke turned to Karin with a determined look:

"I am ready to exchange my sensei for yours."

Karin blinked in disbelief. It wasn't the kind of offer one made lightly. Her sensei was Gai Maito. The whole Uchiha clan knew of his crazy training.

"It's tempting, but I'm going to say no. Gai-sensei is crazy but at least I'm sure to become a chunin under his guidance."

Persevering, Sasuke turned to Kazuma.

"I'll trade with you."

"No," Kazuma said immediately. " I like my team; I'm keeping it."

"You're with Naruto!"

"He's very good when you take the time to get to know him," Kazuma replied. "Besides, if you hate him so much, why would you want my place in his team?"

Sasuke let out a grunt. Then he turned to Neji, looking resolute.

"No," Neji immediately said.

Sasuke slowly raised his eyebrows.

"I was just going to ask you to pass me the salt."

The others burst into laughter. The corners of Sasuke's lips quivered as if holding back an amused smile at his own joke. Neji handed him the salt grumpily.

"How many D-rank missions have you done, Kazuma?" Izumi asked with interest.

The boy thought for a moment.

"Twenty-eight, I believe."

"In less than two months? That's impressive. And you, Sasuke?"

"Fifteen," he grumbled. "Kakashi drags things out on purpose. I'm sure of it."

Izumi didn't argue and turned to Kazuma.

"Your team will fulfill its quota of thirty D-rank missions in no time. You will be able to take C-rank assignments pretty soon."

Kazuma nodded seriously.

"I know. We've been training for it."

But he knew that Izumi, Neji, and especially Jun wouldn't stop worrying. In their eyes, he would always be the baby, the youngest, the one who needed to be taken care of. Sometimes, Kazuma desired Jun and Izumi to be less protective of him. After their mom's death, they had both changed.

"Thirty missions… It will be an eternity for me." Sasuke blurted out bitterly. 

"Unless Kakashi decides otherwise," Jun pointed out. "He's one of the Hokage's favorites. He'll get you guys a C-rank mission when he believes your team is ready."

Sasuke let out an annoyed grunt.

"I'm ready. I'm as ready as Kazuma."

No one noticed the brief uncertain expression on Kazuma's face. He did not know if he was ready. The boy knew he was strong. He was branded as a little prodigy, the best student in his class, the one who had graduated two years early, a little taijutsu genius… He knew all that. But he was in no hurry to move on to C-rank missions.

Was it wrong? Jun, Izumi, and Neji… they were all so driven by their ambitions. Kazuma compared himself to them. He found himself too indecisive, too cowardly. He didn't want to do missions where he had to fight. He liked the safe D-rank missions.

Kazuma was different from his family, he knew that. And by family, he wasn't just talking about the Uchiha, but also Neji and even Karin. They were all so strong, so tough. They clung to their goals with determination but achieving their goals involved fighting, being aggressive, and sometimes being selfish. 

Kazuma would never dare say that to their face. He respected their ambitions. They were hard to reach. It wasn't what he would have chosen, but Kazuma understands why Neji wants to overthrow the Hyuga Main Family… The reason why Jun wants to see the Uchiha thrive and their enemies burn. The reason Izumi wants to become silent and lethal, and even able to assassinate an S-rank ninja without blinking. The reason Sasuke wants to become Chief of the Police force and restore the honor of the clan. These were worthy, legitimate, and honorable ambitions.

But Kazuma had an emptiness in his chest when he tried to define his own ambitions because the dreams of his family members didn't resonate that much with him. He felt like it wasn't enough… That something was missing.

Neji, Jun, Sasuke, and Izumi, were all focused on their goals with searing intensity, and it was as if the rest of the world was passing by without them noticing. They saw it, but they were indifferent to it. Kazuma didn't know how to do that. He wanted to meddle in everything, be involved in everything, solve every problem, and save everyone. Kazuma wanted everyone to get along, everyone to make peace. 

He wanted to make things better, and It was hard. Konoha was a nice village, but it was still a ninja village. Sometimes, Kazuma wondered what it would be like to grow up as a civilian, as someone who didn't live in a world bathed in violence from birth. Maybe he would have liked that. Well, he couldn't imagine being anything other than a ninja. But… A life without the constant threat of inescapable violence… Yes, he probably would have been happy, if he had grown up like that.

However, this kind of consideration was unnecessary. Kazuma was a ninja. He couldn't imagine not being a ninja. He was a Uchiha and a Hyuga, and it was in his blood as much as in his culture. Moreover, he would have hated growing up weak, useless, and helpless. He wanted to save the world, and he could imagine how difficult that was.

He understood why Jun was so obsessed with being strong. Not just to protect the clan, but to get ahead in life. Jun didn't really talk about it, but he wanted a world in peace. And that required being able to defend that peace. He believed that one cannot call oneself peaceful if one is not capable of violence. If we are not capable of violence, we are not peaceful. We are only harmless.

Kazuma remembered the day he was told his mother was dead, the day Itachi tried to kill Izumi, and the day Neji told him the fate awaiting all the members of the branch family. And each time, even if his first thought had been a surge of grief at this injustice, his second thought had been if he was stronger, he would act. He would do something It's all well and good to want to make people happy, but he couldn't change the world if he refuses to confront it.

"The first C-rank mission often goes wrong," Jun said darkly.

Izumi grimaced. She remembered her first mission. Kazuma opened his mouth to ask what her mission had been, but Jun took a deep breath as if preparing to say something important. Irresistibly, Kazuma's gaze fell on him. All eyes were on him.

Jun briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he looked alternately at Kazuma and Sasuke, making sure he had their full attention.

"It is common to awaken the Sharingan in the middle of a fight. If this happens to you, hide it if you can. Hide it from witnesses, enemies, and even your teammates, if you can."

Kazuma opened his mouth to protest. Hiding it from his team, his friends?  But Jun raised his hand to stop him, and the boy remained silent. He hadn't taken his eyes off him, and his dark brown irises turned blood red with three slowly swirling tomoes.

Beside Kazuma, Sasuke leaned forward, fascinated. Kazuma himself couldn't help but stare hungrily at his brother's face. He had hardly ever seen him activate the Sharingan before.

"Having the Sharingan officially will only paint a bigger target on your back. Keeping it secret, on the other hand, can mean the difference between life and death. You will be able to progress faster, train better, and become stronger than your enemies would expect from kids. And when you are cornered, well… keeping this advantage hidden to reveal it at the right time can change the outcome of a fight that seems to be lost in advance."

There was a second of silence. Then Izumi ostensibly leaned on the table and, when Sasuke and Kazuma turned to her, activated her own Sharingan. The reaction was immediate. Karin and Sasuke yelped, Kazuma flinched, and even Neji jumped up in amazement.

"What the…"

"Since when… ?!"

"Izumi too?!"

"Surprise!" The medic-nin said happily before assuming a serious air. "And you can't imagine how keeping this a secret can change the course of a mission. If your enemies already know you have the Sharingan, they can plan accordingly. But if they believe you do not, then it becomes one of your biggest trump cards."

"Since when do you have the Sharingan?" Sasuke asked eagerly.

"Since I was thirteen," Izumi answered.

Thirteen years, or five years earlier… Kazuma did the math. She had activated her Dojutsu the year of the massacre. He could see the same realization pass over Sasuke's face, and immediately the latter turned to Jun, a question in his eyes. And him, how did Jun awaken it?

"I awakened mine when Kyubi attacked the village," Jun declared, deactivating his Sharingan. "I was nine years old."

"Nine years!" Kazuma choked.

Jun was now twenty-one. He had possessed the Sharingan longer than Kazuma had lived. And he had kept it a secret until his fight against Itachi! The boy was amazed; It was quite impressive.

"You used it to learn Fuinjutsu?" Karin asked with interest.

There was a moment of hesitation. Then Jun snorted amusedly:

"I see, that's what's worrying you, isn't it? No, I didn't need my Sharingan to learn Fuinjutsu. Well, it helps memorize precise drawings, but memory is useless without understanding what you're putting in your brain."

Karin looked both reassured and vaguely annoyed as always when the genius of Jun in Fuinjutsu was mentioned. On one hand, Karin was proud to learn how to use the seals with her mentor, but on the other hand, she was the Uzumaki. And everyone present knew how attached she was to the name and prestige of her clan. 

Somehow, it must have bothered her, not to be as talented as a Uchiha in the specialty of the Uzumaki clan. Karin was good at Fuinjutsu, extremely good even, but she didn't have the creativity of Jun. Or, at least, she hadn't yet found an area in which she would have the edge over her sensei. Karin must have been relieved to realize it wasn't too late.

"Do we really have to keep it a secret from our team?" Kazuma pleaded.

Jun's face softened. But he nodded anyway.

"Yes. If you can't, it's not that bad. But it is preferable to keep it from them. Because… Even if they have good intentions, they might mention it to someone else. Or make a remark in public."

Kazuma scowled, but Sasuke nodded seriously. His gaze was distant as if contemplating a new revelation.

"I understand."

Jun looked from Sasuke to Kazuma, and he held back a weary sigh. Of course, that was easy for Sasuke to say. The Sharingan was extremely important to him. And then… Unlike Kazuma, he wasn't that close to his comrades. He wasn't even friends with them. Despite the family's subtle suggestion, the young Uchiha didn't want to invite Team Kakashi over for dinner. It made you wonder if he was really capable of truly bonding with Team 7 outside of a crisis situation. The bell test already seemed far away.

"Very well," Izumi suddenly said, getting their attention. "Another important thing… From the moment you awaken the Sharingan, I will become your appointed medic."

"Isn't it the case already?" Kazuma muttered.

Izumi teasingly kicked him under the table and continued as if nothing had happened.

"And no one but me will be allowed to tamper with your eyes, is that clear? Oh, and Jun will place a seal on your eyes in case someone steals them.

"I can do it now," Jun offered. "Kazuma already has it. I gave him the seal when he was a baby. But it's time for Sasuke to have it as well. We don't need to wait for the Sharingan to awaken."

"You put a seal in my eyes?" Kazuma panicked.

Jun froze, looking alarmed as if he hadn't expected this reaction. Izumi rolled her eyes and patted him on the shoulder with a reassuring smile.

"Relax, Kazuma. He did it for me and Mom too, the same day. It's invisible and painless. It doesn't interfere with medical ninjutsu either, which is great. But if someone gets your eyes transplanted, then the eyeballs explode."

"Scary," Karin commented happily.

"That's excellent," Neji added.

Sasuke said nothing, but nodded slowly, looking determined.

And that's how in the kitchen, Jun put the Raging Rupture Seal on Sasuke. He never imagined finding himself doing that one day. The last Uchiha he had done this for had been Shisui. The latter had asked him to do it for Itachi, but Jun didn't. He had found an excuse, at the time… But now he was thinking above all of Sasuke.

Jun didn't expect Sasuke to be part of the equation at that time. He didn't think of raising Sasuke, protecting him, opening his home and his family to him. He thought… Actually, he didn't think anything at all. At that time, his entire universe was focused on the massacre, with no thought for what would happen next.

What a strange family they were, Jun thought with a hint of amusement. He didn't like Sasuke at the beginning because of his character in the original story. Moreover, at first, he was an intruder, a constant reminder of the massacre and all those painful memories. But Itachi's brother had entered his family and had become someone he wanted to protect. 

And when Izumi had suggested giving him the Raging Rupture seal, one of the best-kept secrets of the current Uchiha clan, Jun hadn't hesitated a second before saying yes. So much had changed in five years...