Almost Won

Looking around, the familiar woods and the little river beside them came into view. Uchiha Zhuang was back. As he strolled through the Uchiha Clan Compound, the familiar streets and faces barely paid him any mind. He had been gone for months, but to them, he was just a little kid—albeit a lot bigger than most children his age—who'd been away receiving training or studying at home because his parents had told him to. He was home every day, after all! Carrying a massive sword was a little unusual, but he'd probably just snuck his father's sword out to show off. After wandering through the market, he returned to his front door. He could hear Meiko breathing inside, and sense exactly where she was. Though she was indoors, his perception could still "see" her.

A gust of wind came from behind. Uchiha Zhuang's body reacted instinctively, leaping sideways. He turned, crouched, and drew half his short sword. The road was empty, with only a few trees, a utility pole, and a trash can nearby. Then came a series of whooshes. His eyes snapped open, and his Sharingan followed the shuriken flying toward him. A figure flickered past. Clang, clang, clang! Uchiha Zhuang knocked the incoming shuriken away and charged into the woods at full speed. A man dressed in black and wearing sunglasses stood in a clearing, apparently waiting for him. Uchiha Zhuang didn't waste time talking; he hurled his short sword at the man. The man dodged to the side, unaware that Uchiha Zhuang's main attack was the swift, ferocious Drag-Blade Slash. It was originally a lethal strike delivered while turning around, but the moment the man dodged the short sword, Uchiha Zhuang charged in with an upward Drag-Blade Slash. There was no way to avoid it. If the man had a weapon, both it and its wielder would be cut in half. If he had nothing to block with, well, he'd be in for a fun time. "Huh?" The feel was wrong—like cutting through a foam box. His blade met almost no resistance. With a bang, the man vanished in a cloud of smoke. "Substitution Technique! He's a ninja! I need to be careful!" Three alarms rang in his head. He backed up to the entrance and watched the surroundings. Though smoke shrouded the area, his Two-Tomoe Sharingan still let him see a few things. Suddenly, a wave of heat poured down from above. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" came a low shout. Uchiha Zhuang tried to leap aside, but abruptly felt a pair of large hands seize his legs. "Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!" He was astonished. This guy was no joke. He gripped the Streamer Red Dragon Great Sword in reverse and plunged it hard into the ground. The blade sank halfway in, successfully interrupting the Headhunter Jutsu as it began pulling him underground. Then he formed a hand sign. "Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!" Spending a massive amount of chakra, he unleashed the Water Release technique. A huge sphere of water surged up to meet the fireball. The two enormous forces of water and fire collided, instantly filling the air with steam. Scalding vapor swept downward, so Uchiha Zhuang cast Water Release: Water Prison Technique around himself to avoid being hurt. Four black-clad men with long swords now surrounded him. He couldn't tell whether they were clones or four real people, so he maintained the Water Prison Technique, afraid to dispel it.

Seeing this, the man in black removed his mask, revealing a pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan fixed on Uchiha Zhuang. Holy crap. Uchiha Zhuang understood in an instant. Genki had beaten him up right outside his own home and used his Sharingan. He must have been nearly out of stamina by now. If this dragged on much longer, Uchiha Zhuang might actually win. "What's with that look? Do you think I'm weak? I don't know why you have so much chakra, but I can open the Eight Inner Gates! Don't think you can beat me, brat!" Uchiha Zhuang dispelled the Water Prison Technique. "Genki, you're shameless! Ambushing a five-year-old!" Uchiha Genki looked exasperated. "What five-year-old is nearly five feet tall? Did you take growth hormones? You have no idea how hard you're hitting. If I'd been the one underground just now, you'd be putting up a gravestone right now." Genki was such a clown. Why had he never seen him do this kind of song-and-dance routine before? "Are you really Genki? Or have you been controlled by someone and turned into a puppet whose goal is to wipe out the entire Uchiha Clan? Genki used to be a serious, stone-faced guy. You don't seem like him!" Uchiha Zhuang said, testing him. While the two of them bickered back and forth, Meiko walked in. Looking at the mess everywhere, she said, "Genki, couldn't you keep up the act for one more day? There goes your dignified father image! And you ambushed your own son—he's still just a child! You couldn't go a little easier on him? What if you'd hurt him? Who would look after you in your old age?" Uchiha Genki could only stare in dismay. Fine, he gave up—since the boy was still a child, after all. He dispelled his Clone Technique and headed out. "Meiko, what have you been feeding him? He's five and as tall as you!" Genki took a punch to the head. "Ow!" he cried. "He's been gone for three months. How would I know what he's been eating? When he was home, weren't you the one watching him grow? Who knows, maybe you secretly fed him soldier pills to speed up his growth!" "Hey! That's going too far! I'm right here, and you're already talking behind my back! I went out to train and came back with real accomplishments. Don't act like I'm invisible!" The two of them chatted as they headed into the house, leaving Uchiha Zhuang to watch helplessly. Yet deep down, a warmth welled up in his heart. It was good to have a home. It was small, but cozy.

That night, in the dining room, two people were noisily stuffing their faces. Meiko felt exasperated. They were like a pair of pigs! She'd have to go buy rice again tomorrow. After dinner, father and son sat on the sofa. Genki picked his teeth with one leg crossed over the other, while Uchiha Zhuang blew on his hot tea and took little sips. "Meiko said you want to go to the Ninja Academy?" "Yeah. Being a ninja sounds fun. They're the strongest people in this world, right?" "Ah, if you mean the ones with the most destructive power, then yes. But—" "Heavenly Retribution Face-to-Face? What does that mean? I never went to school. Can you speak like a normal person?" "If you do too many bad things, Heaven will punish you!" "So what? If Heaven won't bend to my will, I'll defy it!" Genki gazed at Uchiha Zhuang and said quietly, "You've seen what the war is like, right? How did it feel?" Uchiha Zhuang replied calmly, "It was a little better than I imagined. I thought there wouldn't be anyone left alive in the villages during a war, but there were still survivors. They were just starving. I wiped out two groups of bandits and killed about a hundred people in total. Killing people felt easier than doing anything else." Genki was stunned, and his toothpick fell from his mouth. A hundred people? When he was five, he'd still been running wild in the streets with snot dripping from his nose! Once he'd recovered, Genki spoke again. "You've awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, too. You must have gone through a lot of pain. And that great sword of yours—it looks like a legendary blade!" Uchiha Zhuang drew the Streamer Red Dragon Great Sword. "A mountain god gave it to me on Mount Okura. In Baiye Town, I killed a man-eating giant catfish and a Kappa. I honored the Kappa's dying wish and took it back to Mount Okura. While I was asleep, the mountain god gave me this great sword. I saw the magnificent mountains and rivers there and was so moved that I cried. That's when I awakened my Two-Tomoe Sharingan. I used to hear people say hatred was the fuel that awakened the eyes, but I don't believe that anymore."

Genki and Meiko, who had just sat down beside him, both fell silent. This was too fantastical! Even the theater wouldn't dare stage something like that! "You really saw a Kappa?" "Yeah," Uchiha Zhuang said, digging in his ear. Genki and Meiko whispered to each other while Uchiha Zhuang sat cross-legged and practiced chakra control. Just as he was about to doze off, Genki looked at his eyes and said, "Zhuang, you've seen so many things these past few months. They must have made a deep impression on you. I'm sure you understand that the victors become the authorities, and the defeated are branded criminals. The weak are just nourishment for the successful. We hope you'll remember that there's always someone stronger than you, and not let pride blind you. You must always hold back a little, especially in the village. The village has always suppressed the Uchiha Clan. You're growing very quickly, and you might surpass the current clan leader someday. So, you understand."